Code Geass: Lelouch of the Redemption
by Cortega
Summary: Lelouch never planned to survive the Zero Requiem, never planned to live on. He was supposed to die, but he did not. After he lives to see his grand plan fall to ruin, he must once again wear a mask to bring peace to the world. ON INDEFINITE HIATUS.
1. Lap 1

**Hi there, I'm back! This is my first Code Geass fanfic, so please be kind to me.**

* * *

**Lap 1: The Day a New Demon was Resurrected**

_"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." _~Winston Churchill

_2018 A.D., Generic office building, Tokyo, Japan, 10 Minutes after the Assassination of Lelouch vi Britannia_

The light was painful to his eyes, the shimmering tendrils of brightness acting like a hot iron to his waking mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the daylight, blurs coalescing into recognizable forms. He lay on his back, a soft cushion beneath him, cradling his body and protecting him from the unforgiving hardness of the cold stone floor that lay beneath it. His arms were clasped across his chest, as if arranged there in a display of reverence. As he finished processing this, he began to observe his surroundings.

A ceiling fan twirled above him slowly, its broad, dark, leaf-like blades tracing lazy patterns against the plain beige of the ceiling. A fluttering in the corner of his vision piqued his curiosity, and with a great effort, he turned his head to see. A curtain, pale blue in color, a stark contrast to the dying light of day, wavered in the breeze generated by the spinning fan above, its motion languid and erratic, as if it were a diseased serpent thrashing in vain attempt to stave off its inevitable demise.

As he concluded his observation of the room by sight, he became aware of another sense beckoning his attention: that of his hearing. A muted rush accompanied the whirling of the fan, a whispered rustle from the waving of the curtain, but the only sound to which he paid heed was the one right beside him, that of broken-hearted sobbing. He twisted his neck, craning it to look to the other side, wondering who would weep over him, after everything he had done. Beside him knelt a man, tall and proud in visage, weeping over his broken form. If the distinct attire had not betrayed the man's identity, the metallic plate that hid his left eye did so. With a last tremendous effort, he brought his arm up to grip that of the lamenting man, in doing so, prompting a rapid shift in countenance, transmuting from confusion to astonishment to amazement, and finally extracting a response.

"Your Majesty…" He whispered.

"Jeremiah Gottwald…"

Lelouch vi Britannia, the Ninety-Ninth Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire drew a ragged breath, his first since awakening, "Is this... Hell?"

Jeremiah swallowed, then shook his head vigorously, "No, Majesty. I spirited your body away from that accursed place as soon as I ordered the retreat."

"And did everything go... as I planned?" His voice was stronger now, if still hoarse.

A nod came in reply, "Everything's been set up: Suzaku will help Princess Nunnally take control of the throne. Your dream for a better world for her... You did it."

Lelouch nodded, then rolled onto his side, groaning from the effort. Jeremiah quickly crouched down, half-lifting his lord to his feet. The Demon Emperor took stock of his own body. The white robes he wore as Emperor were stained with the deep red of his own blood, a hole in the upper part of his silken coat betraying the location of the fatal impalement he had suffered...

_'Not as fatal as I thought...'_ He mused to himself.

He shed his clothing, letting his coat and shirt fall to examine the stab wound left by his best friend and co-conspirator. The majority of his form was free of wounds, but for the mark on his chest, a crescent-shaped scar over his heart. He lifted his hand, caressing it indifferently, as if it were no longer a part of him, and in a way, it was. Lelouch vi Britannia was dead.

"How did this come to be?" His voice was dead, lacking an emotion.

Before Jeremiah could reply, there was a knocking sound. Turning around, Lelouch saw a door, thankfully without a window on it, so that no one could see him. Jeremiah gestured silently for him to hide behind the door, which he did, allowing his Knight to open it.

"Hello, Lord Jeremiah." A new, unfamiliar voice, definitely male, with a sophisticated, aristocratic temper to it.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Jeremiah asked threateningly.

"I am here to see his Majesty, Lelouch vi Britannia."

There was a subtext-filled pause, "His Majesty is dead, and if this is some sort of prank, I swear-"

"I assure you, his Majesty is quite alive. In fact, he's standing behind the door."

Lelouch froze in his place as the words were spoken, _'How did he know? Was he listening outside the whole time? No, if he had, he wouldn't have known I was behind the door. But if he wasn't eavesdropping then what...'_

Deciding to take control of the situation, he stepped forward, "That's enough, Jeremiah, I'll take it from here." He stepped around the door to face the man who had the audacity to know of his survival, "What do you want?"

The man was of average height, no more than six feet, with jet black hair and lucid eyes, the left a steel grey, the right a nautical blue. He wore dark jeans, haphazardly tucked into shin-length military boots, and a shirt the same color as his hair, with an inverted white cross dominating the garment, stretching all the way across it. A dark coat was settled over his shoulders, kept in check by a golden chain, threaded through a hole in the article's collar, his hands free of the sleeves to maintain mobility. Clasped in one hand was a long staff, affixed at one end with a curved blade, while the other held a bottle of cheap, store-bought _sake_. He smiled, eyes twinkling as he saw Lelouch.

"May I come in?"

* * *

_**Lelouch vi Britannia commands you… REVIEW THIS STORY!**_

**Yeah, I know, pretty short for a prologue, but the actual chapters will be longer. However, this still counts as Lap 1 (like in racing. NASCAR, anyone?).**


	2. Lap 2

**So, this chapter will be a little longer, due to me having to explain a bunch of stuff. Enjoy!**

**7/21/12 UPDATE: Rewrote this chapter to make everything seem less convenient and herky-jerky. For those who have been turned-off by the previous version of this chapter, I beg of you to reconsider. I have rewritten some of the dialogue in order to streamline everything with the canon**

**Lap 2: Geass**

_"I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."_ ~Woody Allen

_2018 A.D., Generic office building, Tokyo, Japan, 30 minutes after the Assassination of Lelouch vi Britannia_

There was dead silence at the man's question, and Lelouch utilized it to survey his options. He wanted to know who this man was, how he knew he was alive, and how he had come here. With a movement, he beckoned the man inside and gestured at the cushion he had lain on. As the man sat down, he sighed in gratitude, as a travel-weary wanderer would when offered a sandwich and a place to sleep, laying both scythe and _sake_ on he floor.

"Now tell us..." Jeremiah began, "Who are you?"

The man's eyes closed, a contented smile on his face, "Such a question may have many interpretations..."

"Then let's start with your name," Lelouch said.

The man looked to him, "My name is Alterith ver Degralis, and as for who I am...I am a pilgrim of sorts. A crusader, much like yourself." The tone of his voice was pleasant, but held a subtle undertone of wariness.

"I see," Lelouch began, "and what would you mean by that?"

Alterith smirked, "That would depend... How much do you wish to know?"

Lelouch sat down beside him, holding up the man's scythe, a crescent of iridescent black metal, with a sharp silver edge on either side, "You carry an unusual weapon, archaic, and unorthodox for its own time." He traced the flat of the blade with his finger, "Traditionally, only the inner edge would be sharp, but the back edge..." He trailed off, then suddenly drew his left palm swiftly across the blade's outer curve, opening a streak of bright red as blood seeped from the new cut, "It wouldn't normally be sharpened." He watched, unsurprised as the slash in his had closed, healing faster than it should have, "This is a weapon made for battle, and not for the simple task of harvesting."

He lay the scythe next to its owner, who then picked it up himself, "Yes, you are right. This weapon was made not only for war, but also as a conduit for power."

"I think, then," Lelouch replied, "the question is not _who_ you are, but rather _what_ you are."

Alterith nodded, "Then you have guessed, my true form is not human?"

Jeremiah frowned, "Then what are you? And how did you know of his Majesty's survival?"

Alterith gripped Lelouch's right arm, bringing his hand up to display the palm, "Look, Jeremiah Gottwald, and I think you'll recognize the symbol."

A dark red mark spanned Lelouch's hand, taking a form resembling a bird in flight. The Mark of a Code-Bearer. Lelouch gazed at it dispassionately, understanding both how he had obtained it, and what it now meant. His father, Charles zi Britannia, had given his final curse on his prodigal son as he had dissolved into the World of C: to wander the Earth forever, unable to die, until another came to take his place.

_'No,'_ He decided, _'I will not force that living Hell on another. To live forever, unable to seek release lest you corrupt and empower another to take it from you. To do so would be to violate my own principles, that only those who are willing to die should kill, and to kill to take the power of eternal life... how ironic, that I myself have broken that very rule, taking the lives of others, even intending to do so myself, yet now forced to live on.'_

He thought of something, raising his hand to his eyes, removing the lenses that inhibited his power, and looking Alterith directly in the eyes, "_You will tell me the truth._"

The man shuddered as the power took hold, rewriting his intentions to follow those of the order he was given, relaxing as it finished his work, and awaiting questioning, "Yes, of course."

"What do you know about Geass?"

"It is the Power of the Kings, giving men the ability to obtain that which is their heart's deepest desire. If such a power has elevated to a certain level, one is able to take the power of immortality from those who possess it, the Code-Bearers. There are also other clauses that govern those, unbeknownst to most of them."

"And what are those?"

"If one takes the immortality from the one who first granted them the power, they will lose it, but if taken from another..."

"…One will possess both," Lelouch finished for him. "I ascertained that from my own experience. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to Geass you. Now, onto more pressing matters, what are you and how do you know all this?"

"By definition, I am not human. I was manifested by a version of C's World and bound to the flow of Time."

"Manifested?" Lelouch quirked a brow, "That explains how you know of Geass and Code and their intrigues, if indeed you were brought forth by C's World. But my father said that C's World is the will of mankind."

Alterith shook his head, "C's World predates existence as we know it. It's the will of God, of the universe. When Time and Space were created, C's World manifested me and my brother to regulate them. However, no less than eleven hundred years ago, I was…exiled."

"Why?"

"I lost my humanity and as such, I was stripped of all of my power and cast down to this world, until I regain it and understand…" The man's expression seemed pleading, as if hoping that Lelouch would not delve further.

"Very well, you said '_by definition.'_ Does that mean that there are other names for you?"

"Yes," He answered, "I have been seen as a God in many world's, but such a name is not fitting for me; God brought forth the C's World, and me; in essence, I am a child of God."

"And what are you the God of?" Lelouch asked, hoping for him to expound.

"Time," He replied simply, "I control the flow of Time, destroying universes when they threaten to unravel the delicate balance between my brother and I."

"Brother?"

He nodded, "Arisseos, the Lord and Master of Space. We each have our own spheres of power."

"Yours being?" Lelouch queried.

"Time, Death, Knowledge, Truth, Love, anything that can transcend the boundaries set by lifespans and distance. My brother's are limited to those things that eventually come to an end, besides Space. Life, Lies, Emotions. Anything volatile or unstable."

"I see, and why are you here?"

Alterith looked up, his eyes devoid of emotion, "Redemption. I need to regain my humanity and understand what it is, what drives men."

Lelouch nodded, taking this in. Then a thought struck him, "How is it you have a human form and how long have you had it?"

"I was cast down to this world in this form." He replied.

Lelouch nodded, then tilted his head, "How did you come to be here?"

"Pardon?"

Lelouch waved a hand impatiently, "How did you know I would be here, on this day, at this time?"

Alterith blinked, eyes still radiating red under the effect of Geass, "I was told by you."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, "I told you?"

He shook his head, "No. I was told by you, but you have yet to tell me."

"How does that work?"

"The big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff."

Lelouch's eyebrow rose even higher.

"Doctor Who reference," As the eyebrow climbed even higher, Alterith sighed, "Time travel. By my count, I briefly met you just before I was cast down to earth, after this meeting. You told me to be here at this time, on this date. When I very rudely told you to 'fuck off'—and I apologize in advance for the rude way in which I spoke to you—you just smirked and told me you'd see me soon. It was a rather new experience. Usually I'm the one using time travel to screw with peoples' heads…"

Lelouch understood, "Very well. Will you help me, then?"

"Help... you?" Alterith seemed wary, as if unsure as to whether this were a trick.

"Yes," Lelouch clarified, "To protect the world I brought peace to. I have no power left to me but my Geass and Jeremiah's sword. One can be used only sparingly, and the use of the other would be unwise as the world tries to settle into peace. Will you help me? I need more men."

_'And,'_ Lelouch thought, _'Another Geass on my side wouldn't hurt. I am no longer the sole pos_

Alterith gazed at him, eyes piercing, trying to discern his intentions. Then he assented and knelt, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Lelouch took a step forward, extending his hand. It stalled for a moment in hesitation, then he resolved himself and placed it on the kneeling God's shoulder. In an instant they were catapulted from the bland office room into a vast and mysterious dimension. Alterith stood, coat billowing in an unseen, unfelt gale as Lelouch spoke.

_"You want to accomplish your goal, don't you? You have a reason to live."_ His voice echoed, as if spoken in an empty tunnel.

_"A Geass Contract?"_ Alterith drew a sharp breath.

Lelouch's smirk was audible, _"Yes. If I gave you the power to grasp what you seek, would you help me? Would you grant my greatest wish? Will you accept this contract?"_

There was no hesitation in the reply, _"Yes! I hereby accept the terms of your Contract, Lelouch vi Britannia!"_

With a flash, they were restored to their previous surroundings. Alterith shuddered, right eye transmuting from blue to crimson, the glittering bird-shaped sigil taking hold in the iris. He raised a hand, covering his right eye. With a whirling motion, he rose to his feet, gripping his weapon and the bottle of _sake_.

"Yes, Lelouch." He hissed, emotion filling his voice, "I think... I am excited!"

**Kind of a lame cliffhanger there, but, oh well! There's always next chapter, which has a good bit with some action in it.**


	3. Lap 3

**Sorry, no giant robots in this one. But I do promise some cool Lelouch kung-fu moments (just pretend that it's enough to compensate, kind of like the Japanese people after WWII.) Ten points to anyone who gets the (completely obvious) '**_**Inferno**_**' reference. Also, yes, I did indeed steal a name from **_**LOST**_**.**

**Lap 3: The False Fatality (formerly known as: Lelouch Knows Kung-Fu)**

_"A recent survey stated that the average person's greatest fear is having to give a speech in public. Somehow this ranked even higher than death which was third on the list. So, you're telling me that at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy."_ ~Jerry Seinfeld

_August 3, 2020 A.D., Tokyo, Japan_

Kouzuki Kallen, as she was known in Japan, glared at the object of her wrath. A small book, no larger than an average-sized piece of paper, stubbornly refused to fit into her suitcase. She twisted, turned, pushed, pulled, readjusted, rearranged, and repacked the entire mess several times over to no avail. There simply wasn't enough room for everything to fit the precious photo album inside. Eventually, she gave up, and discarded a change of clothing in order to pack the book in. Sighing, she threw herself onto the bed, hoping for sleep to overtake her thoughts.

Tomorrow, she would be flying out to Beijing, to a UFN conference about the EU's recent military dealings. They had slowly amassed a veritable army of Knightmares, and there was to be a debate as to whether to take arms against them, or wait for them to make the first strike. Milly Ashford, her best friend, would be accompanying her, having been assigned to cover the conference. Personally, she was opposed to taking action until they knew their enemy's goal.

"What would you do, Lelouch?" She wondered aloud.

But, of course, no reply was forthcoming, and a single tear trailed its way down her cheek.

0000000000

It wasn't to be known to Kallen, but a slim figure crouched in the boughs of the cherry blossom tree outside her window on the second floor of her mother's house. Smooth black hair framed his thin face, a blue-and-steel gaze boring through the walls. The man looked down, noting a newspaper lying across his lap, filched from the recycling bin of the Japanese Prime Minister. Dropping the now-folded paper into a coat pocket, he reached into another, drawing a communications earpiece. He tested it for a few moments, ensuring that the connection was securely encrypted, then dialed the number he had painstakingly memorized. A ring. Then another. Followed by another. Then the line on the other end was picked up.

"Orange's Oranges, how can I help you?"

"Jeremiah," He said curtly, "it's me. Can you please connect me to his Majesty?"

"Yes. Yes, of course." The reply was short, and the phone left unattended for a minute as the Ninety-Ninth Emperor's most faithful Knight called for his Lord. Then the line was answered.

"Alterith," Came the voice of the Demon Emperor, a voice that, if heard on a tapped phone line, would send conspiracy theorists into cardiac arrest, "are we ready to deploy?"

"Yes, my king, everything is going according to plan. As you foresaw, the EU's military preparations have spurred the UFN into forming a committee. According to what I know, there should be a complication in the processes. In short, we need to be there when it happens, so that you can establish your identity."

"Agreed. When should we be there?" Lelouch asked.

"0700 hours, Chinese Standard Time, or the equivalent of 1900 hours Britannian Eastern Time." He replied.

"Good. Excellent work, Alterith."

"I aim only to please, my king." The Time Lord responded humbly, hanging up. He breathed softly, looking at the darkened windows of the Japanese house. Speaking as if she could hear him, he whispered, "Are you ready, Kouzuki Kallen? Are you prepared for the storm that is to come?"

0000000000

_Beijing, China, 0700 Hours Local Time_

The man moved swiftly down the stairs to the shuttle bus that awaited the passengers of the Florida-Beijing flight. The light robes draped over his slender frame concealed his identity as effectively as the _keffiyeh_ wrapped around his head. As he left the terminal, he was joined by another man, one who wore a pitch-black coat and dark clothing to match his hair. A violet pair of eyes locked with a navy blue and steel grey pair as the dark-cloaked man led him to a car. As soon as they were in, the white-robed man unwound the _keffiyeh_, letting it hang loosely around his neck.

"How are things proceeding, Alterith?"

"Very well, my king. I am glad you acquiesced to my request to allow me to design the Core Luminous of the Gundams—I mean Knightmare Frames. The attack, according to my sources, will take place at the second of Beijing's three airports. We are currently at the first." Alterith said, opening a laptop that he had pulled out of his pocket.

"When is it scheduled?" Lelouch asked.

Alterith paused, fingers hovering over the keys, "In twenty minutes." He hesitated, "I should also tell you that your friends, Kouzuki Kallen and Milly Ashford, are on the target flight."

"What?" He gasped, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I didn't think it was important." He replied with a straight face, "You know that I cannot lie to you, because of the Geass you cast on me two years ago, but I_ can_ withhold information as I see fit."

"I see." Lelouch answered, unimpressed, "I'll let that slide this once, but from now on, I want you to tell me about these things."

"Understood."

"Do you have the item ready?"

"Yes." The Time Lord said, taking a leather-bound briefcase from under the seat in front of them, "Do you want to change here?"

"No, it'll draw too much attention." Lelouch frowned, "By the way, who's driving the car?"

"It's on autopilot. It's even programmed to make simple mistakes like not turning on its indicators, or not slowing down at a yellow light, then screeching to a halt when it doesn't make it, or even tailgating other drivers." Alterih said, winding a lock of hair around a finger.

"That must come in handy." Lelouch commented, mostly for conversation's sake.

They sat in silence for the rest of the drive. Alterith stared dazedly out the window, while Lelouch plotted a convoluted plan to maintain peace in the world.

_'If I'm going to keep this world peaceful, I'll need support. Jeremiah is undyingly loyal to me, but Alterith... he's been leal this far, and he has not failed me, but still... He has an ulterior motive, and I intend to find out. If he becomes a liability, I'll simply destroy him as I had planned to do with Rolo. God or not, he won't get in the way of the peace I created.'_ He mused to himself for a few more minutes before they arrived.

"What are your orders, my king?" Alterith asked as he opened the door.

"Stay close to the location of the event, and await further orders. I'll contact you when I need you." Lelouch answered, wrapping the _keffiyeh_ into place.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

0000000000

Kouzuki Kallen, as she was known in Japan, was slightly miffed that her day had been completely and utterly ruined by a group of no-name Britannian terrorists who had burst into the plane the moment it had landed, taking most of the hostages to the Economy section, and she was going to kill them. Or, rather, she would have had there not been about seven different automatic weapons pointed at her, or if she was not currently tied to a chair in front of a camera behind a terrorist for the entire world to see.

"We are the Legion of Justice!" Declared the leader, a man identified as Rosencruz, "And we shall fight until this perverse and twisted system of democracy is overthrown and the Demon Emperor's true heir is restored to his throne!" He swept his arm to the side in a grand gesture, "You, the Nations of the World, have four hours to comply with our demands before we begin executing the hostages, beginning with Kouzuki Kallen!"

"Legion of Justice, huh?" She said sarcastically as the camera turned off, "I just don't see it."

"Shut up!" One of the terrorists yelled angrily, kicking the chair out from under her. She struck the ground face-first, then flinched as another men kicked her viciously in the side. She would have fought them off if they hadn't been holding her friend hostage, and they knew it.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked angrily, "What's your motivation?"

Rosencruz smirked, "We're being paid handsomely for our services."

"By who?" She pushed.

"That," He answered, "is a secret known not even to me."

"So, you just blindly follow the orders of somebody you don't even know?" She mocked.

"As I recall, you and the Black Knights did very much the same."

The retort stung her as if she had been whipped, not only because the man was correct, but also because it reminded her of how she had betrayed the man she loved. She struggled to contain the roiling emotions that the memories brought to the forefront of her thoughts. She felt a tear well up in the corner of her eye and shook her head to dispel the emotion, cursing herself for her weakness. The movement did not go unnoticed.

"Sorry, did I touch a nerve?" Rosencruz mocked.

Kallen lifted her head, seething, "I swear to whatever God exists: when I get out of here, I'm going to kill you."

0000000000

"Bless you," Lelouch muttered as Alterith sneezed, rather loudly at that.

"Somebody must be talking about me." He replied, wiping his nose and clearing his throat, then turned to the onlookers who hadn't had the common sense to not stare, "What are you looking at?" He yelled.

As always, the loud, abrasive question left everyone turning their backs in shame. With a satisfied grunt, he spun away from the crowd and rejoined Lelouch, making their meandering way to the site of the attack. On the way he whistled an old battle tune, "The Battle of New Orleans," and began making casual remarks about the weather, how nice it was, and how the Ninth Circle of Hell from _'La Divina Commedia,'_ written by Dante Alighieri, was reserved for traitors, before descending into vague mutterings about how he would like to watch all the betrayers suffer in Hell. Lelouch ignored his contractor, instead devoting his mind to planning for their immediate raid on the terrorists.

He was still thinking when he ran into an armed police officer.

"Sorry, sir, but you cannot enter this area. Terrorists have seized a plane and an attempt to negotiate with them is under way." The man said, "Any and all departing flights have been cancelled and you may receive a refund by contacting your airline company."

"Why, thank you, oddly-helpful government employee!" Alterith exclaimed.

"In any case..." Lelouch said, removing his contact lenses, _"You will obey my orders!"_

In a moment, the officer's mind was his to command, "Absolutely, sir."

"Good," He replaced the lenses, "you will hand over your weapon and security pass, then forget you ever had any interaction with us."

"Yes, sir!" The man barked with the same rigid discipline that all police officers had, complying.

As the two passed the cordon around the runway, they saw a convoy ahead of them, heading toward the site of the attack. At the helm stood a tall man with long black hair and a sword at his waist: General Commander Li Xingke. Alterith glowered in his direction as he passed, fingering the few inches of his staff that protruded from the neck of his floor-length coat, the only thing that could betray the presence of the long, curved blade concealed beneath. Lelouch spared the Chinese man a glance, remembering how he had betrayed him, feeling a surge of resentment toward him. He shook his head, clearing away the emotions, and beckoned Alterith to follow as he proceeded to the security room. The Time Lord grudgingly complied, but not before drawing an invisible "X" in the air with his finger and making a waving motion toward the UFN General.

"What was that?" Lelouch asked, if only to make conversation.

"An old hex that my brother and I made up when we were kids." He answered curtly.

"You used to be kids?" The Ninety-Ninth Emperor chuckled, not expecting a reply, as they arrived at the door to the operations room for all security footage, "Now, remember," He said, waving the pass in front of the security lock, silently unlocking it, "non-lethal weapons only, and get in and out quickly."

"I _have_ done this before, Majesty." Alterith smirked, as Lelouch drew a taser-shotgun from his robes, "Ready?"

"Ready!" He said as they kicked the door open together.

Sighting the two operators, Lelouch briefly aimed, then fired. The short-barreled weapon shuddered in his hands as two dozen electrically-charged pellets scattered across the room, literally shocking the two (rather corpulent) men into unconsciousness. Alterith did not waste a second, moving swiftly to the other side of the room, pushing one of the men off the console, and quickly began tapping away at the keyboard to hack the system. In a few minutes, he stood, repositioning the unconscious operators so that an observer from behind would assume they were merely slacking off, rather than being the victims of a terrorist attack.

"It's done, then?" Lelouch asked, closing the door behind them and setting off at a swift pace for a room in which to change.

"Yes, if anyone bothers to check the security footage, they'll find that nothing was amiss. In effect, we don't exist until we exit the plane." Alterith replied, shouldering open a storage room door, "In here."

Lelouch let the long clothing fall to the floor, exposing regal clothing of gold, trimmed with an ivory border. He unraveled the innermost strip of cloth from the robes, revealing a long cape of the same color scheme as his suit. He pulled a black helmet with white trim and a gold faceplate, setting it atop his head and letting it slide shut with a series of clicks. He looked up, face concealed by opaque gold, embellished with the Greek letter, _ω_ (omega), in black.

"How do I look?"

Alterith smiled, his coat rustling as he turned on his heel, "Like a king..."

0000000000

Li Xingke, to whom the task of negotiating with the terrorists had befallen, surveyed the area surrounding the plane, eyes darting around like a hawk. He had tried every negotiating trick in the book, from bribery to zealousness, but nothing worked. He was directing more troops to enforce the cordon when an aide rushed out of the control tower of Beijing's airport.

"Sir!" He shouted, dashing up the elevated platform that the General stood on, and, when prompted, continued, "We've received a message!"

"From the UFN Council?" He asked, hoping for a green light to extract Kouzuki and the hostages. He had seen the message that had been broadcasted around the world, and knew what the stakes were here.

"No, sir," The aide managed, breathless, "it's from an independent source. Listen."

He held up an earpiece, which Xingke took, "Who am I speaking to?"

"My name is unimportant." Spoke a modulated voice, "However, I can provide valuable assistance."

"I see, and I suppose you have conditions on this 'assistance?'" Xingke asked, knowing to expect it.

"Yes, you are to keep your soldiers out of my way, and to not interfere, no matter what occurs. Are we agreed?" The voice was smug, satisfied, knowing that Xingke had no other recourse.

"We are." The UFN General said, "Do you want an escort to the plane?"

"That won't be necessary."

"Oh? And why not?" He knew the answer would probably involve some sort of need for secrecy, but he asked the question anyway.

The response was not what he expected.

"Because I'm already inside."

0000000000

_Underbelly of Aircraft_

Lelouch cut the connection before Xingke could start asking questions, having snuck aboard with Alterith in the guise of two maintenance men doing routine repairs on a different aircraft. It was only too easy to sneak past the guards, both UFN and terrorist, and access the hatch under the landing gear to enter. His companion checked the cargo bay, and then determined the area to be clear of belligerents. They moved across the room silently, not wanting to alert the terrorists to their footsteps. When they reached the service elevator that would take them to the Business Class cabin, they paused to rehearse the plan.

"Remember," Lelouch said, "I'll proceed to First Class, where the terrorists are stationed, and remove them..."

"...And I'll go to Economy to free the hostages, taking care of any guards along the way." Alterith completed the sentence, stepping into the lift first, "I'll go on ahead and dispatch the guards."

"Right," Lelouch said, nodding, "just be sure to leave some for me."

"You can fight?" Alterith asked, eyebrow raised in interest, holding a hand out to prevent the doors from closing.

The Code-Bearer smirked, lifting an arm and flexing, "I _have_ been working on a farm. That kind of work makes you stronger, if only marginally."

The other smiled in reply, "More than marginally, from what I see." He removed his hand from the door, letting it close, "See you on the way down." And he was gone.

Lelouch waited for a moment, allowing Alterith time to incapacitate the guards, then pushed the "up" button on the call panel. He ascended to the main cabin in seconds, and stepped out of the lift to assess the damage. Three guards lay unconscious on the floor, their bodies showing numerous bruises consistent with being struck by a large, blunt object, such as the handle of a scythe. He smiled; his contractor did his work well. Brushing aside the curtain separating First and Business Class, he encountered seven of the terrorists, all of whom gaped at his strange clothing.

He scoffed disdainfully at the Britannians, "I am disappointed. I had hoped that the world would remain at peace, but I suppose that it was a vain hope. I did not account for humanity's nature."

"What are you on about?" One of them asked, "What are you doing here?"

Lelouch looked at them, "You are not terrorists, you are nothing."

"What?" Another roared, "Why you—I'll kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try." Lelouch said, then he sprung into action.

0000000000

_Economy Class_

Milly Ashford was quiet, having taken a Saturday afternoon class on Practical Responses to a Hostage Situation, and knew that the best way to avoid being killed was to be quiet and to try not to attract attention. The same could not be said for the unfortunate man beside her, who got clubbed in the head with the butt of a gun by one of the terrorists. She was about to execute Torture Avoidance Maneuver #3 (a.k.a. Cowering every time one of your captors walks by), when she heard a sound at the door. Being the curious reporter she was, she couldn't help but to inch closer to the door, listen hard, and pray that nobody noticed what she was doing.

The guard stationed outside the door brushed the curtain aside as he spoke to somebody beyond it, "Who are you?"

This was followed by a response from a mysterious voice, "Hi there, could I get a hug?"

"Um... okay?" The guard seemed unsure as to how to respond and shuffled forward awkwardly into what appeared to be a hug; then came the scream, "OH MY GOD, IT BURNS!"

The attention of every person in the cabin was diverted to the curtain separating Business and Economy Class as the silhouette of the guard slumped against it, then was shoved aside as a tall man wearing a floor-length coat stepped over his prone form.

"Top o' the morning to you, chaps." He said, regarding everyone in the cabin as if he had just stepped into a pub, but eyeing the five guards still standing.

"Wh-who are you?" One of the guards stammered as Milly gaped in open-mouthed amazement.

The man smirked maliciously, "Your death!"

0000000000

_First Class_

Lelouch spun forward, surprising both enemies directly before him with a pair of unexpected uppercuts. He seized the collar of a third man, throwing him in the path of a kick from one of his comrades, and then punched both of them in rapid succession. He lunged forward, diving under a kick and a punch, coming up under the last man in line, knocking him over as he stood, executing a spinning kick, catching the other two in the face. Deciding to finish the battle, he whirled, knelt, and struck the last man in the head, knocking him unconscious.

It was over in ten seconds.

He made a noise, indicating disgust and disappointment, "I hoped you would put up more of a fight," He salvaged a rifle from one of the downed soldiers, "but I suppose I expected too much. After all, you're only nobility."

He moved to the plane's cockpit, arming the rifle. Ducking under a cannibalized lighting fixture, he opened the door a half-inch to peer inside. There were three people inside. The first was tall, with sharp features and brown hair, though it was slowly graying. Lelouch recognized him as former Earl Rosencruz, a man who had once risen up against him, only to be vanquished by Jeremiah. The second was a short, plump man wearing a black and white uniform with a wing-like badge on his shirt that read "Frank Lapidus" in scratched, fading letters. The pilot. But the last one was what shocked him. It was a woman, slumped in a chair which she was tied to, with messy, red hair and a red ribbon around her neck.

Kouzuki Kallen.

Lelouch slid down the wall. He had known that Kallen would be on this flight, but he had assumed that she would have just been with the hostages in economy, and that he wouldn't need to speak with her. It was foolish, he realized, to believe that he could go his entire life without once seeing, hearing of, or talking to somebody he had known in his past life. At first, the news broadcasts had been almost too much for him, driving him to tears every time he saw one of Milly's reports, or saw Nunnally addressing the nation. Eventually, he had, with Jeremiah and Anya's help, overcome his misgivings and accepted his fate. The pink-haired girl had been a most surprising ally, having understood what he had done and why, and had voluntarily been placed under a Geass command to never reveal his continued existence unless given permission by him, Alterith, or Jeremiah (though the latter could have just cancelled it.) But of all people, Kallen's betrayal had wounded him to most, and he wouldn't, couldn't, forgive her so easily.

Fingers trembling with pent-up anger, he slowly turned on the communicator built into his helmet, "Alterith, how are things proceeding on your end?

_"In all excellence, my king."_ Came the reassuring voice of his accomplice, _"We're just passing into Business."_

"And the guards?"

_"I took care of them."_ He did not elaborate, which meant that they were still alive. Alterith had a particular quirk where he loved describing people's deaths in vivid, gory detail, especially if he caused it.

"Very well, leave the hostages in Business, then come forward to the cockpit."

_"Hm?"_ The Time God seemed confused, _"You haven't already finished?"_

"I just wanted to let you have some fun." Lelouch lied.

He could almost hear Alterith's smile in his voice, _"Yes, Your Majesty."_

0000000000

_Economy Class, Four Minutes Ago_

Before the word "death" had even fallen into silence, Alterith was already moving forward, twisting mid-step to unsheathe his scythe from his coat. He spun forward, slicing the nearest guard's legs at the knees, bringing him down. He made another turn, striking one guard in the head with the base of his staff, cutting the third across the forehead, temporarily blinding him in a cascade of blood flowing from the wound. He broke his spinning pattern as the fourth guard charged, too enraged by the defeat of his comrades to register that he should have just shot the blade-wielding warrior. The staff came up from behind his legs, tripping him. Another strike from the staff drove the wind out of him. As he approached the last guard, Alterith attacked without hesitation, his movements blindingly fast as he struck the man in the face and side, then in the chest when he was downed. Never once did he have to use the sharpened fore-point of the large, sloping blade, nor the ornately designed back point, a secondary arc of sharp, deadly steel.

In seconds, the five guards had been taken down, knocked unconscious or wounded such that they were no longer a threat. The man turned, stowing the crescent blade in his coat, and cast his gaze around the cabin. He beckoned for the gathered hostages to stand, and they did, afraid that he might kill them if they don't. He noticed this, and rolled his eyes.

"I just saved you people, I'm not about to kill you." He groaned, walking to the curtain and kicking the unconscious guard out of the way, "Come on."

They still seemed tentative, which Milly disapproved of. He had just saved their lives, which was more than enough to earn her trust. So, she decided to use her extremely dominating and eccentric personality to get the job done.

"All right, people, let's move it!" Her voice rang out loudly in the confined space, causing everyone but Alterith to cringe from the sheer force of it, "We're being rescued, let's go!" She stepped forward and extended a hand toward the man, "Nice to meet you."

He smiled, "It's good to finally meet you, Miss Ashford."

"Call me Milly, Mister…"

"Alterith," He said, "Call me Alterith."

"Alright, then, onward people!" She cried, directing the assembled people into Business Class, "Are you here alone or—"

"I am but a servant of my king, His Majesty, Omega."

There were mutterings among the crowd at this statement, wondering who this mysterious Omega character was. Milly smiled at all of them, driving them to silence with her disarming cheer. She and Alterith chatted for a while, as he'd been given orders to keep everyone in Business, when he was alerted to a phone call. He excused himself and answered with his earpiece.

"_Alterith, how are things proceeding on your end?_" Came Lelouch's voice.

"In all excellence, my king." Alterith replied, "We're just passing into Business Class." After a brief exchange, he hung up, "I am needed in the cockpit." He apologized to Milly, "Please keep all the passengers here."

She nodded, "That's fine by me!"

"By the way, what's your phone number?"

0000000000

_Cockpit_

Lelouch looked up as Alterith entered quietly, "What took you so long?"

"Nothing." Alterith answered innocently, stuffing a piece of paper into his pocket, "What's the plan?"

Lelouch had his reply ready, "You go in first to provide cover, and I'll follow to take him out."

"I like that plan." Alterith said, "Simple, effective, nothing could go wrong."

"Please don't say that." Lelouch groaned, "The last time I thought that, it resulted in a WMD being unleashed in the middle of a highly populated area."

"Oh," He muttered, "well, then… Everything could go wrong?"

"Better. On three."

Lelouch crouched by the door as Alterith stood in front of it. Both breathed deeply and closed their eyes, listening to the muted sounds of conversation. A second later they began to count.

"One." Lelouch muttered, arming his rifle.

They could hear Rosencruz yelling angrily at somebody.

"Two." Alterith breathed, taking an attack stance with his scythe, staff placed forward, crescent blade turned upward.

The yelling grew louder as Rosencruz seemed to become frustrated, repeatedly calling for his men.

"Three."

At the mutually sounded word, their eyes opened simultaneously. Alterith lifted his foot, ramming the door off its hinges. He lunged forward, bringing his scythe around in a deadly arc, bisecting the gun that Rosencruz had half-drawn from its holster. The Britannian terrorist continued to bring the dismembered firearm up as Lelouch dashed under Alterith's outstretched arm, executing a spinning kick, knocking the shard of a gun out of Rosencruz's hand and striking him in the face on the follow-through. Alterith moved forward a single step, bringing the point of the scythe up under the throat of the pilot, though he was unaware of it.

"State your name, date of birth, occupation, and dance style of choice!" He barked.

"M-my name is Frank Lapidus!" The pilot stuttered, "I was born on July 3, 1992. I'm the pilot of this plane!"

"Dance style of choice!"

"Is that really of any _fucking_ importance?" Frank screamed, acutely aware of the sharp metal point beneath his chin.

"Of course it is!"

"Uh, i-it's salsa! Salsa!"

Alterith lowered his weapon by a few inches, apparently disappointed, "I was hoping it would be breakdancing..."

"We have bigger problems than breakdancing, Alterith." Lelouch reminded him.

"I never thought you'd say that." He stated, slashing Kallen's bonds.

The girl slid down the back of her chair, having been held up only by the tightly-wrapped strips of cloth that had bound her. Her face was relatively unmarred, but it was clear that she had been physically beaten. She coughed, spouting a scarlet stream of sanguine fluid across the floor, and fell forward. A gentle hand, Lelouch's, stopped her from hitting the floor. He carefully propped her back up, having the pilot hold her there. His body shook with unreleased rage as he slammed a fist into the kneeling Rosencruz's face, knocking the man out cold on the floor.

"My king," Alterith's voice had a soothing quality to it, though Lelouch could hear a subtle undercurrent of resentment, "you have a world to address."

He breathed slowly, eyeing the unconscious Kallen from beneath his mask, "Yes, you are right." He said, turning on the camera.

0000000000

_Outside the Aircraft_

Zero, leader and CEO of the Black Knights, had landed on-site mere minutes after the mysterious stranger had called, and had been briefed on all events that had led up to his arrival. He had come by way of the _Lancelot Albion_, which had been rebuilt, and was serviced by Lloyd Asplund, the Earl of Pudding and the Black Knight's Chief Scientist, Rakshata's, rival in research. It may have seemed rather crass of him to use the Knightmare Frame once used by the now-apparently-deceased Knight of Zero, Kururugi Suzaku, but for those in the know, it was a trivial fact, given that Kururugi and Zero were one and the same.

"How long since they called, Xingke?" He asked, getting impatient, but retaining his composure, as he knew Lelouch would have done.

"Twenty minutes ago, Master Zero." The Chinese General reported, "What are your orders?"

Suzaku thought it over, repeating his silent and most-often used mantra in his head, _'What would Lelouch do?'_

After contemplating for a moment, he made a decision, "We'll give them five more minutes, then—"

Anything more he was about to say was interrupted by an aide running out of the mobile command center, "General, Master Zero! Come quickly, you won't believe this!"

They rushed down the stairs to the command center's television room. The same room that had been shown two hours ago was shown on screen now. However, instead of the terrorist leader, a bound Kallen, and an ensorcelled pilot, the scene was very different. The screen displayed a man wearing a white cape, trimmed with gold, with a matching suit, and a helmet featuring a gold faceplate with a single black character embellished across it, the Greek symbol for the last letter in its alphabet, which the man on screen now stated as his moniker.

"I am Omega!"

"Omega?" Muttered Suzaku under his mask, "What does that mean?"

"Hear me, United Federation of Nations! All you with power, listen carefully. You have saddened me with your actions; war spreads like a plague of locusts: The abhorrent results of years of inactivity by the so-called leaders of the world. The world has not changed! The _people_ have not changed! Therefore, I, Omega, do hereby declare war on all those who promote conflict, and all those with power!

"The world has refused to change, so I will change it!" He declared, voice booming, "Those with power, fear me! Those without it, rally behind me! This world will be razed to the ground, and then reforged from the ashes!"

Xingke turned to an aide, "Have all available forces outside that plane, now!"

"Remember my name!" The man on-screen ordered as the image began to flicker and break up, "Omega!"

"Sir, the signal's gone." An operator said, unnecessary, as the screen had shut off.

Xingke and Suzaku both realized what was going to happen and ran outside and up to the platform, where a hundred UFN troops waited, arrayed around the plane, with a helicopter hovering over the platform for good measure. One door of the plane opened, the bright yellow slide inflating as Milly Ashford began directing the passengers out with her usual, dominating manner. When they were all out, she turned her back on the open door, apparently directing another person, but more gently.

First came a man, garbed in a long black coat, holding an assault rifle liberated from the terrorists, hawk-like eyes glaring accusingly at Xingke and Suzaku. The second man was shorter, and a fair bit fatter. The pilot backed out of the plane slowly, carrying an unconscious Kallen in his arms. Around the world, several fanboys groaned in envy at the sight. At last came the infamous man of the hour, Omega himself.

He stood, unmoving, at the top of the yellow slide, then slid down it after the others in as dignified a way he could. When he reached the bottom, he gestured for the pilot to set Kallen down. Milly sat down cross-legged, and lay her friend's head on her lap. Then he turned to face the many rows of soldiers whose guns were now trained on him and his contractor.

Alterith half-turned to Lelouch, his hand moving to the back of his head to grip the hilt of his scythe as he let the assault rifle fall to the ground, "Orders, my king?"

Before Lelouch could respond, Xingke called out over a megaphone, "Surrender, Omega, and we can resolve this diplomatically."

Lelouch considered it for a moment, "Alterith, what is the possibility that they will actually negotiate with us?"

Alterith studied the soldiers for a minute, "Given the formation of the soldiers, approximately forty-eight percent."

"I'll take those odds." Lelouch muttered, then raised his voice, "Very well, Li Xingke. We will negotiate with you. However, we will be keeping our weapons.

Xingke nodded, "As long as you don't mind that we do the same."

"We are agreed, then."

At Xingke's word, the soldiers parted, making an aisle to the platform for Lelouch and Alterith to follow. They moved forward, lions with a proven ferocity in a pack of nervous hyenas, demanding respect, as two people who had taken down an entire plane full of terrorists should. They stopped at the top of the platform, level with Xingke and Suzaku. Alterith narrowed his eyes dangerously toward Xingke.

"Now that we are assembled here," Xingke said, "we'll start by asking for you to remove your mask, Omega." He drew his sword, pointing it at Lelouch, "We cannot have somebody as dangerous as you running around without knowing if you're on our side or not."

"I'm afraid that you must, Xingke, because I refuse." Lelouch smirked under the mask, knowing what would happen next.

"In that case!" Xingke lunged forward, letting the action speak for itself.

With a reverberating clang, metal met metal as Xingke's sword was deflected upward by the flat of Alterith's scythe. The Time Lord gazed at the Chinese man dispassionately, eyes flashing dangerously. In a flurry of movement, he disengaged, pushing Xingke back with the force of his _riposte_.

"Li Xingke," He intoned emotionlessly, "you have miscalculated. You fatally underestimated us. Which means..." The Time Lord expression changed now, a cold and malevolent smile upon his face.

With a blurred movement, he spun forward, a merciless arc of silver following his action. The blazing slash was barely parried by an increasingly nervous Xingke. Alterith grinned, pressing forward, pushing Xingke back to stand next to Zero.

Alterith's right eye burned brightly with savage delight, shifting from blue to red, "You will die here, Li Xingke."

_**Lelouch vi Britannia commands you... Review this fanfiction!**_

**I hope you like the fight scenes I wrote. Also, I would like to thank Justicez and Souls of Fire for reviewing this, the previous two, and (hopefully) all the chapters yet to come.**

**Next Lap will have some Giant Robot Action!**

**Next Lap: It's NOT a Gundam!**


	4. Lap 4

**Finally, after three grueling Laps, I have at last brought you GIANT ROBOTS! There are going to be quite a few Knightmare battles over the next few Laps as Lelouch accrues allies like Peter Petrelli collects powers in Season One of **_**Heroes**_** (may it rest in peace.)**

**Also, Orange Park is an actual place in Florida, and I got the name "Jon-Jon's Playhouse" from one of my friends.**

**Additionally, I should probably disclaim this: I do not own Code Geass. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, and Lelouch wouldn't have concocted the Zero Requiem.**

**And finally, you all know that Lelouch is going to reveal himself in a dramatic and showy fashion, but I haven't decided **_**exactly**_** how, so I'm putting it down to a vote. You have four options, and can choose up to two. The poll will be taken on my profile page.**

**Enjoy!**

**Lap 4: It's NOT a Gundam! (Formerly known as: Trouble in Jon-Jon's Playhouse!)**

_"At my age, I do what Mark Twain did. I get my daily paper, look at the obituaries page, and if I'm not there, I carry on as usual."_ ~Patrick Moore

_Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China, 8:23 AM Local Time_

_'I can't beat him!'_ Li Xingke thought, parrying a slash off the flat of his sword.

Alterith's scythe flashed in a broad arc, the point bearing down on the Chinese General. Hastily, he ducked backward to avoid it, saving himself from being impaled by the deadly blade, but ceding ground to his opponent. He leaped forward in an attempt to regain what space he had lost, but it was futile as his sword met empty space. Alterith had sidestepped the attack, and struck Xingke in the side with the scythe's handle. The Chinese man staggered, coughing violently as a stream of blood spattered across the metal floor of the platform.

Alterith half-turned to Lelouch, right eye flickering between sea blue and bright red, "My king, I think it would be prudent for you to acquire transportation for us. As you can see, I can handle this myself."

"Very well, Alterith," Lelouch smirked under his mask, "just come back alive." He waved imperiously to Zero, then ran straight at him.

_'He's crazy,'_ Thought Suzaku, running forward to meet his enemy head-on, _'He's running right at me.'_

_'Yes, Suzaku,'_ Thought Lelouch, _'you did exactly what I expected you to. Now...'_ With a flourish, he leapt, kicking off of Zero's head, to grip the landing struts of the hovering helicopter.

"What?" Suzaku exclaimed, "He was aiming for the chopper?"

Lelouch swung his legs, flipping into the aircraft's cargo bay. With another mocking wave to Suzaku, he moved forward to the cockpit, coming face to face with the pilot.

A hatch opened in his helmet's faceplate as he spoke, _"You will surrender this vehicle to me now, and report to your superiors that I threatened you with a gun."_

"Yes, sir." The pilot replied, relinquishing the controls to Lelouch, then jumping down to the platform below, cracking his left ankle when he fell.

Another ringing clang resonated through the air as Alterith parried a vicious slash from Xingke. The Chinese General slid back under the force of the deflected blow, then charged once more. Alterith stepped forward, blocking the overhead cut, then turned, bringing the scythe's hilt up from behind Xingke's legs, flipping the soldier onto his back.

Xingke cried out in pain as Alterith stepped on his hand, sending the katana spinning away with a flick of his scythe, "The Ninth Circle of Hell is reserved for those who commit treason. As Lord of Time incumbent, I am vested with the authority to act as Judge and Jury. Therefore, here and now, I find you guilty of treachery and sentence you to the Ninth Circle!"

And before Xingke could so much as open his mouth to protest, the Lord of Time's Geass-laden eye flared maliciously, driving out all thought, and plunging the world into darkness.

0000000000

Orange's Oranges_ Corporate Headquarters, Orange Park, Florida, Holy Britannian Empire, 8:23 PM_

Jeremiah wiped his brow as he left headquarters. While he managed his own farm, he had been astounded as to the enormity of the world's demand for delicious, homegrown oranges. Because of the fact that the company's distributors were constantly sending orders for more oranges, and that all other orange-growing companies had been wiped out along with Pendragon, he had been forced to expand his business, now totaling at 2476 square miles of farmland spread across Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Venezuela, Guyana, and Southern California, hundreds of regional, national, and international distribution centers, and one corporate yacht of hundreds that was mysteriously stolen while being shipped to Florida. The shipping company had apologized, and even sent a new boat for them, but for the rest of the week, Alterith walked around the building whistling old sailors' tunes and referring to himself as "the Captain". Jeremiah had felt that the yacht was a bit unnecessary, but Alterith, who occupied the position of Executive Administrative Advisor, had insisted on it. He had also gone to great lengths to keeping the covert assembly of their Knightmare Frames secret, labeling the entire basement "Jon-Jon's Playhouse," a name which deterred unwanted guests more effectively than any security measures would; that and the elaborate torture device strategically placed in the hallway at the bottom of the staircase.

He slapped a cigarette out of an employee's hand as he passed, replacing the nicotine-loaded tube with an orange, "Those'll kill you faster than any war can." He said.

"Y-yes, sir!" The man stuttered, straightening.

The Orange Knight grinned as he got into his car. As the CEO of a multibillion dollar company, he accorded respect just short of royalty, but nowhere near his loyalty to his Majesty, Lelouch vi Britannia. His smile faded as the inside of the screen lit up, and he assumed a serious demeanor. A window opened up, running an encryption software before securing itself and opening a video call to reveal the empty kitchen of his farmhouse.

"Evening, Jeremiah." A bored voice droned.

The CEO of Orange's Oranges groaned as he heard his legal ward's voice, "Anya, when you're talking to me, can't you at least be on-screen?"

"Fine." The pink-haired girl mumbled, sliding her chair into view, "Will you be home on time?"

"Yes," He nodded, "however, this may well be the last time."

"Hm?" For the first time, the Knight of Six seemed interested in the conversation, "Then can I assume that all preparations are complete?"

"Indeed," Jeremiah stated, smiling, "effective immediately, you are the _provisional_ CEO of Orange's Oranges."

"Does that mean that I have to wear a suit?" Only Anya would ask such a question when being given responsibility for a multinational corporation.

"Am I wearing one?"

Anya studied his image on the screen and shook her head, "No."

"Does that answer your question?"

She shook her head again, "No."

He slammed his head against the steering wheel, "It means that you do _not_ have to wear a suit, Anya."

"Okay." She murmured, fiddling with her camera, "See you."

"See you." Jeremiah replied, cutting off the connection. He waited as the computer system shut down, then smiled, "Yes, I will serve you with all my heart, Your Majesty."

0000000000

Li Xingke felt himself falling through space, before the sensation stopped and he opened his eyes. He was bound to a steel post on top of a platform in a circular room. A single door led into the room, while a raging inferno occupied the floor, leaping higher and higher with each passing second. Just when it seemed that the flames would consume him too, the door opened, and the fire parted, creating a path as Xingke's opponent stepped into the room.

"Who are you?" He demanded, "How did you bring me here?"

The man gazed at him scornfully, "My name is Alterith. This is the power of my Geass, the Seal of Illusory Dreams."

"Whatever that means." Xingke countered, "Why am I here?" He asked, straining against his bonds.

"You are here to be absolved of your sins." Alterith murmured, leaning against a wall constructed purely of fire, trailing his hand across his chest, as if lost in thought.

"And I suppose that you're going to punish me for them?"

For the first time, Alterith seemed interested in the conversation, "Not at all. I told you already, in this case, I act as Judge and Jury, not Executor."

"Then who is going to 'execute' me?" Xingke snarled.

As Alterith opened his mouth to speak, the door behind him opened, letting in a stream of bright light, silhouetting the thin frame of a young man.

"I think he's here." The Time Lord said.

Xingke gasped, not believing his eyes, "It can't be."

"It is." Said Lelouch vi Britannia, walking down the aisle of flames, "Alterith, would you read the charges?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Alterith said, unfurling a scroll from his pocket and donning a pair of reading glasses, "Li Xingke, born on the Thirty-First Day of the First Solar Month, in the year 1993 of the Britannian Imperial Calendar, is charged with two crimes: violence against men, and betrayal of one's lord and vassal. How do you plead?"

"What?" Xingke was stunned, the man read this out like it was a formal court hearing.

"The Judge will record a plea of 'No Contest.' The Jury's verdict is 'guilty,' therefore, Executor Lelouch vi Britannia has supreme authority to decide your fate here." Alterith removed his glasses, rolling the scroll up, "The Judge and Jury now pass the final decision to you, Your Majesty."

"L-Lelouch..." Xingke stammered, "Wait..."

"By the authority vested in me by the Judge and Jury of the proceedings," Lelouch proclaimed, sweeping his arm to the side in a grand gesture, "I sentence you, Li Xingke, to the worst suffering that this court can sentence: to be subjected to the punishment of _Judecca_!"

For a moment, nothing happened, then Alterith smiled grimly, "The Executor's Will is decided." He strode forward, "To tell you the truth, Li Xingke, it will be a great pleasure and an awful ordeal to watch you suffer."

With that, he reached out and touched the hem of the Chinese man's pants, brushing his fingers across the cloth at ankle level. Within second, Xingke felt a cold, tingling sensation where the Time Lord's fingers had touched him. Looking down, he saw crystals of ice forming around his ankle, growing ever larger, and in greater numbers. It spread like a virus, claiming more and more of his body with each passing second. Struggling was useless, and only accelerated the growth of the malevolent crystalline fiend. As it passed his waist, his throes grew desperate, frantic, seeking some way to stop the ice from absorbing him entirely, but to no avail. He felt the pain of the searing cold against his skin, as if he were dying one inch at a time, and felt the frigid sarcophagus close around his neck. He opened his eyes to see Alterith facing at him, raising his hand toward him.

"With this," He murmured, "I absolve you of these crimes."

With that, the ice closed in around Xingke, freezing his unsounded scream before he could even make a sound.

0000000000

_Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China, 8:23 AM_

Alterith gazed at Xingke's crumpled form, lying prone on the ground, "And this is the result..." He whispered, turning away.

"You won't get away with this!"

The Time Lord whirled at the shout, bringing up his scythe to block the overhead cut from Zero's sword, the sword once carried by the Ninety-Ninth Emperor. With a flourish, he pushed Zero back, giving him room to use his weapon to its fullest potential. He stepped forward, turning to deliver a horizontal slash, pressing the former Knight of Zero toward the platform's edge.

"You fight well for one so young." He said, voice low enough that only Zero could hear him, "I wonder whether your conspirator would approve of the use to which his blade is going."

"What?" Suzaku gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I speak of," Alterith hissed, "_Kururugi Suzaku!_"

He spun, striking his opponent in the chest with his elbow, then bringing his scythe around in a flashing arc. Suzaku leaped, avoiding the attack, then pressing his advantage with a series of quick cuts, pushing Alterith back a step. The Japanese man moved fast, defending himself from a well-aimed downward slash and retaliating with several of his own.

_'I have to end this soon.'_ Alterith thought, blocking another cut.

With a determined grunt, he forcefully shoved Suzaku back with a well-time block, delivering a blindingly fast flurry of slashing moves, "You wield the sword of a dead man!" He yelled.

"What of it?" Suzaku countered, successfully parrying his attacks.

With another slash, Alterith stepped back, "No soul lies in a blade with no master." He snarled.

He caught Zero's next attack on the staff of his weapon, the strike not even denting the wood, and twisted the scythe violently, jarring the weapon out of his opponent's hands. As the blade flipped end over end skyward, it was caught by a white-gloved hand.

"That was an impressive display, Alterith, but it is time for us to depart." Lelouch declared, leaning out of the helicopter's window, "And your flight's not leaving without you!"

"It shall be as you say, my king!" Alterith called back, then turned to Suzaku, eyes flashing dangerously, "Make no mistake, Kururugi," He said quietly, "this battle is far from resolved."

With those lovely parting words, he leaped over the platform's railing, catching the rope ladder that dangled from the aircraft. Even before he had, the helicopter turned, heading out to sea. What few land units that were manned tried to follow, but eventually came to the impenetrable barrier for all terrestrial vehicles known as the coastline.

_'Not today, Suzaku.'_ Thought Lelouch, _'But soon...'_

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, 9:45 AM Beijing Standard Time_

It was a large, pricy-looking yacht, with silver-colored trim along the railing. A tall man stepped out of the cockpit as the helicopter descended from the skies. He was a smiling, portly man, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a ball cap, like the ever-so-huggable uncle that always brings you the best presents when he visits. No one would have guessed, seeing him greet the ivory-cloaked figure that disembarked from the aircraft, that he was a member of the ASIS.

"Master Omega," He had to yell to make himself heard over the din of the whirling blades, "we've made progress with the next stage of your plans!"

"Excellent, Mr. Jones!" Lelouch replied in kind, his voice slightly lower in volume as Alterith stepped out of the aircraft, the noise of the engine petering out, "When can we make the next move?"

"As early as tomorrow." Jones was a generic name, a codename for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service's male agents. On an unrelated note, the female agents were all called Jenny.

"Good work, Jonesey." Alterith smiled, like a candle flickering in the wind, it came and went, teasing Jones with the unimaginative nickname he had invented.

"Thanks, mate." Jones remarked, tipping his hat, "You weren't so bad yourself."

The smile flared again briefly, then sputtered out. "Majesty, now that you have recovered your Sword." Alterith said, kneeling, "I shall have an appropriately adorned sheath forged for you."

Lelouch nodded, having become used to the Time Lord's affectations, "Not _too_ ostentatious." He said, handing over the blade.

That made the kneeling warrior grin, prompting him to get up and bolt for the forge, located at the stern of the ship. Nobody was sure why the shipbuilders had built a forge, but Alterith was glad for it, having made a living as a blacksmith from 1842 through 1857, when circumstances had forced him to move. However, when he saw the Time Lord charge to the ship's aft, Lelouch frowned darkly.

_'This one won't be a problem.'_ He thought, settling down in a beach chair on the deck, _'He's a useful weapon; he's intelligent, talented, cunning, and most of all, ruthless, and best of all: I can trust him. He's reckless and unpredictable in his actions, but leal to a fault, which makes him even deadlier in combat. But he's also willful, and independent, but above all, he's passionate. With a man like him, I could conquer Britannia, but with him and Jeremiah together'_ Lelouch chuckled darkly, _'I could rule the world. Whatever his faults may be, he came to me of his own accord, he helped us design the SR Drives, and he's remained loyal, and a good friend. Yes, I can trust him. Not, of course, to the point of foolishness…'_

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. If the war they were fighting were on a chessboard, he wondered what piece each of them would be. He knew that he would be a king, as would Schneizel or Nunnally. Suzaku and Jeremiah would both be rooks, attacking their enemies head-on through some unspoken code of honor. Almost everyone else would be a pawn, but Alterith…

"Ah." He made the soft sound as he put his finger on it, "A bishop."

Yes, Alterith would be a bishop, moving and acting unpredictably, but within a set pattern of attack. He was restricted to one kind of movement—one drive, one action—much like a bishop could only move on one kind of square, whether black or white.

_'Kallen would be a queen.'_ He thought, then felt a wash of anger, _'She should have been _my_ queen!'_

He knew that he was being foolish; how could he have expected her to _not_ turn against him, given what he had said and done. And yet, in a small corner of his mind, there festered resentment, and an unexplainable, unshakeable belief that she _should_ have trusted him. But she hadn't. Much like Nunnally, and the Black Knights, all of them betrayed him on the word of their enemies.

But he was digressing; he still needed to plan for the next battle. He stood quickly and walked to the stairs that led to the forge. With a flourish, he swept down the stairs, brushing past two Aussie guards who gave him a nod of respect. The Australian government had been most helpful, even more so after he had explained everything and revealed his identity to the President and his highest-ranked officials, then Geassing them (with their consent) to never reveal his identity unless given express permission by him. After that, they had supplied everything that he had needed, even hijacking the corporate yacht while it was _en route_ to Florida.

Of course, he_ had_ kept some things from the Australians. He had made sure that only President Darwin was aware of the secret venture going underway at the L-Zero Base, who (for a hefty sum generously provided by the Aussies) had made sure to keep the project, known only as "_Seraphim,"_ completely secret.

As he entered the workshop, he spotted Alterith working in a corner of the miniscule room, "How goes it?"

"It goes well, my king." Alterith grunted, shifting an anvil a few feet to the left., "But I only found just enough metal for a scabbard. We'll need to add it to the list for the next supply drop."

"Are you not using the metal from the scrap heap?" Lelouch asked, confused. He knew that there was a large pile of spent metal sitting in a storage room on the second level, but at his comment, Alterith turned, giving him a horrified glance.

"Scraps?" He nearly shrieked, "Are you daft? Only the best metals can be used to forge a scabbard for your sword. As an Emperor, you must expect and deserve no less than the best!" He swung his arm for emphasis, not even noticing when his hand hit a wall, as he continued his rant.

Lelouch rested his head on one hand, _'I should have remembered that Alterith is _very_ keen on upholding respect for royalty. Now he's going to spend the whole day ranting about 'disrespect for one's social superiors' and how things were much different a half-dozen centuries ago, and how talk like that could have gotten somebody executed and… oh, well. I'll just let him do what he wants…'_

As Lelouch finished his thoughts, he noticed that that Alterith was still fuming, "…And another thing!"

"Alterith, cease this!" He cried, head beginning to ache.

"Yes, of course, my king." Alterith apologized demurely, "I apologize for my breach in conduct."

"Yes, yes." Lelouch said, waving away his contractor's formal apology, "Just finish your work, the plan is moving to the next stage tomorrow."

"Oh?" Alterith said, voice taunting, "The Immortal Demon is getting impatient, is he?"

Lelouch smiled under his mask, "Perhaps there's some truth in that."

"Don't be pushing yourself too hard now, my king." Alterith said, returning to his task, "We wouldn't want you to work yourself to death, now would we?" He leaned down as he began stoking the flames in the furnace, "You still have a long road ahead of you…"

"Yes, I suppose that's true." Lelouch said, walking to the stairs, "Are all the preparations made?"

"Yes, my king, but are you sure you want to keep the plan this way?" Alterith asked, briefly glancing over his shoulder.

"Of course, there are to be no alterations to the plan, understood?" Lelouch began ascending, pausing only long enough to hear the Time Lord's response.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Alterith replied, watching Lelouch vanish up the stairs. He returned to his duty, working the bellows to stoke the fire, then paused, and smiled gently, "Stubborn ass, that one." He muttered, "Just like his family…" He trailed off, working hard to bring the flames to a roar, and stopping as he did, resting his chin on his hand, a faraway, nostalgic expression on his face, "Just like me…"

0000000000

_Herlong Airport, Jacksonville, Florida, Holy Britannian Empire_

"What do you mean you can't find my booking?" Jeremiah yelled at the check-in clerk.

"W-well, sir," The clerk began, cowed by the cyborg's angry roar, "the system says that your booking doesn't exist."

Jeremiah growled, "Let me have a go."

"Wh-what?" The clerk was stunned, usually, people just told him to get his manager.

"Let me see it." Jeremiah repeated, then followed with a muttered, "I'll show that machine who it's messing with."

"S-sir, I don't think I can do—"

"Do you know who I am?" Jeremiah asked, human eye flashing dangerously, "I am Jeremiah Gottwald, CEO of Orange's Oranges. Do you want to have to explain to your superiors that you lost the booking of a multibillion dollar executive? Do I have to show you how we teach _respect_ in my company?"

"N-no, sir!"

"Good." Jeremiah said, stepping around the counter, "This will only take a moment." Pulling out the wires that Alterith had designed for him, he began shuffling through them, "Let's see… Audio… Video… Ah, here we are: USB." He took the wire and plugged it into the computer, then shrugged his shoulders, exposing the three connecting points embedded in his back.

"S-sir!" The clerk cried out in alarm as the CEO reached into the back of his shirt.

"There's no reason to panic." Jeremiah said firmly, plugging himself in, "This will only take a moment.

Time passed as the Orange Knight sat quietly in the clerk's chair, eyes closed. Finally, he opened his eyes, disengaging the wires and unplugging both the computer and himself. The printer sputtered, printing out a ticket, which he took with a swift movement.

"I'll take that." He muttered as he turned away.

"W-what did you do, sir?" The clerk asked tentatively.

"Oh, I just gave it a talking-to about loyalty. It shouldn't give you any more problems." Jeremiah replied, grinning, "In fact, it may find that _you_ are the problem."

And with that parting quip, he dashed off, eager to not only meet his lord's expectations, but to exceed them.

0000000000

_Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China, 12:23 PM Local Time_

Zero bent low over Xingke, scrutinizing the man. When the Chinese general had been taken by the EMS, Suzaku had feared for the worst. His fear turned to confusion when a paramedic had determined that Xingke was neither unconscious nor dead; he was sleeping. They were unable to wake him up, and had determined, from analysis of his brainwave patterns, that he would be waking up within about four hours of the event. Just as Suzaku was about to stand and leave, Xingke's eyes snapped open, dilated in fear and a tormented expression appearing on his face. He stared at his reflection in the mirror-like mask of Zero, and let loose a scream, clawing at his chest for a moment before abruptly cutting off and staring closer. He seized Suzaku by the head and peered at his reflection closely.

"I'm not frozen!" He cried out.

"Um, no." Suzaku said, confused, "No, you're not." After a moment of waiting to see if the General would release him, he spoke again, "Xingke, would you mind letting go of my head?"

"Oh!" The Chinese man hastily relinquished his hold, "Forgive me, Master Zero."

"No need, Xingke, however…" Suzaku eyed his subordinate in confusion, "What did you mean 'frozen?'"

Xingke frowned, "I was fighting that man, Alterith and then…" Everything came back to him in a flash, "He has a Geass!"

"What?" Suzaku was alarmed, "A Geass? What did he say? What does it do?"

"One at a time!" Xingke cried out, "He said something like 'Seal of Illusory'… No, I can't remember, there's too much pain."

"Pain?" Suzaku asked, just as he was interrupted.

"Zero!" He whirled around at the familiar voice. It was Kallen, flanked by Tohdoh and Ohgi, "What's going on?"

"Kallen, you've recovered." Suzaku said, staving off questions until he could formulate a plan.

"Don't dance around the question, Zero. Who were those men?" Tohdoh asked, stepping forward.

Xingke coughed, spouting blood, "One was Omega." He answered painfully, "The other was a warrior like no other."

Ohgi stepped forward, "That's hard to believe, Xingke. You and Tohdoh are the best hand-to-hand combatants that we have. But somebody we've never even heard of?"

"Yes," Xingke said emphatically, "and he used no trickery, no deception. In a straight-out duel, he defeated me."

"You mean his sword-fighting skills are better than yours?" Ohgi asked, alarmed. He had hoped that the UFN could resolve this quickly.

"I wouldn't say that…" At their confused looks, he elaborated, "He didn't use a sword, it was a scythe. But," His expression darkened as the others considered his previous statement, "he has a Geass, too."

"That _evil_ power!" Ohgi snarled in surprise.

"A Geass?" Tohdoh seemed skeptical, "Are you sure?"

"He even said so, something like 'Seal of Illusion.'" Xingke answered, repeating what he'd said to Zero.

"How are we going to beat Omega if only his first lieutenant wiped the floor with you?" Kallen asked.

"By being prepared, and having everything ready for them." A new voice came, high-pitched and feminine.

"You…" Kallen said, narrowing her eyes, "What do you want?"

0000000000

_UFN Black Knight Intelligence Division Headquarters, Horai Island, 2:34 PM Local Time_

"Xianglin, is Lord Xingke alright?" Hong Gu, Head of Black Knight Intelligence, asked his comrade, Zhou Xianglin, Xingke's aide. He stood in the Intelligence Division's headquarters, having finished reviewing data that had come in over the course of the day, speaking to her over a phone line in the center of the division's command table.

"Yes, sir." Xingke's aide answered, "Just a bit shaken from his fight. Apparently there's a man with even more skill with the blade than Master Xingke…" She trailed off, "Also, have you seen the news?"

"About this Omega person?" He replied, "Yeah, he seems to just be one of those resistance leaders that spring up periodically. I'm sure he'll be gone soon."

"Right, then I'll be off? We still have to decide when to convene the conference, since it was postponed." She seemed anxious to be gone.

"Right," He said, "See you." He set the phone back in its cradle and turned to leave, but stopped when it rang again. He picked it up swiftly, eager to go home, "If it's about the conference—"

"Oh, no. Nothing so trivial, General Hong Gu." A mysterious voice said, "I simply have some information for you."

"Information?" The Chinese general growled, "Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"That's not important. Now listen carefully," The man's tone seemed serious, so Hong Gu complied, "tomorrow at exactly 1500 hours local time, a strike force will attack and destroy the corrupt government of the Republic of Korea, at their capital, Pyongyang-Seoul City. You have until then to affirm whether you support or oppose us."

"Who? Who is this?" Hong Gu demanded.

"Who I am is not important, just be sure to not tell anybody at all, understand?" The voice seemed expectant of an answer.

"Ah, of course." He replied, hanging up. He paused for a moment, wondering who the voice was, then ran off to contact General Commander Xingke.

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, Same Time_

"May I ask why it seemed necessary to say that, my king, when he clearly will disobey?" Alterith asked, hanging up.

"People tend to do the exact opposite of what you tell them to when you warn them not to tell anybody." Lelouch answered, smirking, "I expected Hong Gu to run off and warn the Black Knights," He said, watching the hacked video feed from the virus that had been implanted in the UFN's computer system, "and he did."

"I see…" Alterith smiled, "Reverse Psychology, then?"

"Indeed," Lelouch answered, "and Jeremiah will be joining us the day after tomorrow. All of the pieces are falling into place."

"Oh?" Alterith seemed to think of something, "But, what of the others?"

"They will join us in due course. For now, we consolidate our power here, and take the world by storm."

0000000000

_Korean Airspace, _Ikaruga_ Main Deck, Trajectory to Pyongyang-Seoul City_

Ohgi paced the deck of the _Ikaruga_ impatiently. He still wondered where the information had come from and why. But first he had to see if it was even correct. He looked at a card-shaped locket that rested on his sternum, concealing a picture of his daughter, Chigusa. As he did, he heard running from behind him, and hurriedly stashed it under his shirt.

"Ohgi!" It was Minami, "We've reached the city."

"Okay, start a sweep of the area and locate that strike force." He ordered.

"That won't be necessary," Minami replied, "we've already found it."

"What?" Ohgi was stunned, he hadn't thought it would be so easy.

"You have to see it." The purple-haired man replied, gripping his comrade by the wrist and dragging him to the bridge, "Look!"

The city ahead was a sight to see. The slums that bordered the inner wall were left untouched, with a single gash running along the central road. Beyond the walls, the opulent houses of the country's aristocrats were consumed in a blazing inferno. Atop the once-luxurious palace in the middle of the flames stood a single Knightmare. It was sleek and black, its left arm a slim, golden claw, and stood imperiously at the top of the palace's spire.

Ohgi leaned down to call to the communications operator, "Contact the hangar! Tell Kallen and Tohdoh to prep the _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ for combat!"

"Yes, sir!" As soon as the operator had finished, he saw an alert pop up on the _Ikaruga_'s screen, "Sir, you're being hailed."

Ohgi startled, "Me?"

"Yes, sir, by name."

He considered it, then figured that he had nothing to lose by allowing communication, "Patch it through."

A video channel opened up, showing a man in dark clothing lounging on the seat of his Knightmare, similar to that of the _Guren_, with its motorcycle-like cockpit, "Kaname Ohgi, right?"

"Who are you?" Ohgi demanded, "Why are you here?"

"My name is Alterith." The man said, unimpressed, "I'll be brief. You have two choices: you can side with us, or against us."

"You make it seem like we're the ones who have to make a choice. We far outrank you in numbers and artillery strength." Ohgi said, "Therefore, we are demanding your surrender."

"You have no right to demand anything of me." Alterith countered, "You lost that right the moment you committed high treason, betrayer." He cast out an arm threateningly. The flash of pure rage across his face made everyone on the bridge take a step back, momentarily forgetting that he was a video and could not hurt them, "I will render judgment on you at a later moment. For now, I must ask, do you side with us, or against us?"

"You keep referring to this 'us;' who are you referring to?" The Japanese Prime Minister asked.

"The Omega Conglomerate, of course." Alterith said, smirking.

"What?" Many people on the bridge gasped, "You mean Omega was behind this?"

"Who else?" Came the snide reply, "Of course, I just came up with that name, 'Omega Conglomerate.' I think it has a nice ring to it, unlike, 'Traitorous Black Rats.'"

"In that case," Ohgi declared, "we are your enemies!"

A deranged smirk broke across Alterith's face, alluring and charismatic, yet with none of the cheer or humor that would have gone into such a smile, "You can try." With that, he cut the connection.

"Sir!" It was the communications operator, "The _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ are ready to move out, and Kallen and Tohdoh are prepared. We've also dispatched Third Squadron."

"Good, send them out!"

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, Same Time_

"My king," Lelouch looked up as Alterith's image flickered onto the screen, "they have sent out a large battalion, and are mobilizing the _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_. What are your orders?"

Lelouch made a sound of contempt, "Crush them all!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

**Now, this is the part where things are going to get confusing. Little things are going to start becoming **_**very**_** important, so be on the lookout for time frames, locations, and innocent-seeming dialogue spoken by Lelouch, Jeremiah, and Alterith.**

**Also, I'd like to thank Justicez and Souls of Fire for beta-ing this! (Thanks guys)**

**Don't forget to vote!**


	5. Lap 5

**And now, I offer my FABULOUS Knightmare battle sequences! Along with some really confusing plot twists.**

**Before I forget, VOTE for how Lelouch will reveal himself to the world on my profile page at the top, in that little bar up there. So far only five of you have voted, so it's not looking pretty…**

**Lap 5: In His Majesty's Steadfast Service (Formerly Known as: Place Your Bets!)**

_"I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them"_ ~Ian Fleming, a.k.a. **the Guy Who Created James Bond**

_Pyongyang-Seoul City, Korea_

Shinichiro Tamaki grinned as his squadron launched, fanning out into a widespread aerial formation. Their objective was to capture the enemy Knightmare if they could, or at least buy Kallen and Tohdoh time to deploy the _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_. With a rush of adrenaline he urged his Knightmare forward.

"Okay, you dumbass, you're going down!" He cried confidently, voice broadcasting over his Akatsuki's speakers.

"Don't make threats you can't back up." Alterith said, voice dangerously quiet, "You'd best surrender."

"I think I'll call your bluff." Tamaki said in his usual loud fashion. Before he could say anymore, he felt an earth-rending shudder run through his frame, "What the—?"

He looked down frantically to see his Knightmare torn apart at the waist, auto-ejecting seconds before the ruined frame detonated. The rest of Third Squadron suffered similar fates as a Hadron Beam arced their way from the spire's mount. As the sky burned with the light of a squadron of exploding Knightmares, the _Guren_ burst into the air, followed closely by the _Zangetsu_.

"A Hadron Beam?" Kallen cried, manipulating the controls to focus on the enemy, "From where?" Her answer came swiftly as the Knightmare raised its right arm, firing the blast from its palm, the dark red beam tearing through the space between them, forcing her to dodge.

"Where did he get that kind of technology?" Tohdoh wondered.

Alterith's voice was drenched in amused condescension, "I might actually have to move." He muttered to himself.

With a flourish, the five-feathered energy wings flared to life on each side of the frame. The dark purple planes of light blazed into existence as the _Guren_ sped toward it. In a moment, Kallen was within range.

"Take this!" She yelled, firing the _Guren_'s right arm. But the silver claw cut only through emptiness as Kallen glanced up to see the enemy hovering a hundred feet up, "So fast?" She cried, firing one slash harken, "How?"

"The _Peregrine_ is the fastest Gundam in existence," replied Alterith, "its speed is unrivaled by any."

With that, he fired his own slash harkens, each shaped like a spearhead, from the wrist, shoulder, and waist of his frame. In a display of stunning accuracy, the first struck Kallen's harken, deflecting it from its intended trajectory, while the second sheared through the tough cable trailed by the weapon. The third drove straight into the _Guren_'s shoulder, crippling its right arm.

She tried the right arm, but received only a disoriented flail from the now-useless part. Worse yet, the ejected arm had not yet fully retracted, and now it dangled on a twenty foot length of cable, "He's got skill." She muttered to herself, maneuvering her Knightmare to draw its MVS dirk. In a flash, Tohdoh took point.

"Kouzuki, you fall back and protect the _Ikaruga_, I'll hold him here." He said as the _Zangetsu_ charged forward.

With a shrieking sound, the _Peregrine_'s harken returned to its origin point, and the _Guren_ drew back to cover the flagship of the Black Knights. The _Zangetsu_ accelerated, drawing its sword, "Your opponent is me!" The Japanese general yelled.

"I'll take you on without hesitation!" Alterith replied, deftly manipulating the controls.

The _Peregrine_ fired slash harkens from its knees, and either side of its hips. The four spear-like projectiles struck the _Zangetsu_'s sword, deflected for a brief moment before the harken boosters activated, driving them forward again to bounce off once more. In the following moments, they returned to the frame the came from.

In a blur of speed, he flew upward, concealed by the sun's blinding rays. The _Peregrine_ twisted, drawing a long metal staff from its back, a crescent blade sliding out of the end. The scythe thrummed as it cut through the air, vibrating intensely as the _Peregrine_ dove downward, a dark blur against the bright afternoon sun. With a clang of metal, the two blades crossed, each Knightmare straining to overcome its enemy's strength. In a moment, the two had broken apart, the _Peregrine_ flaring its wings as it took to the air, a black streak across the sky.

"Your attack accomplished nothing!" Tohodh proclaimed, getting the _Zangetsu_ ready for a charge. As he did, he noticed that the Knightmare's sword was still vibrating from the force of the blow.

"You're wrong." Alterith's voice boomed from the _Peregrine_, "My aim was not your Gundam, but its sword!"

With that, the _Zangetsu_'s blade shattered, having vibrated itself to pieces, "What?" Tohdoh yelled out, the Knightmare reeling as shrapnel pelted the _Zangetsu_'s front.

"I'll deal with you two later!" Alterith roared across the air.

Swiftly, the _Peregrine_ flew upward, the five golden talons of its left hand retracting, forming a claw-like cannon. Rays of energy seemed to pulse from the barrel formed by the hand-cannon, then, for a brief moment, a point of light flared, obscuring the sun with its brightness, and disappeared. When it finished, the _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ appeared to be unharmed.

"It'll take more than a light show to beat us!" Kallen yelled.

Then the wave struck. The land far beneath the battlefield exploded, sending fragments of rock spiraling into the air. A series of explosions followed the first one, spreading outward, then inward, to paint a circle of destruction on the ground. The _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ were thrashed around horribly, tearing through the two battle-hardened Knightmares like paper, stripping the outer armor to its component parts. Metal shrieked and rent as the wave passed through the sky, leaving a ring of destruction embroidered on the ground, like a beloved tapestry having the finishing touches put on by its loving designer.

"Behold the Particle Wave Pulse Cannon!" Alterith proclaimed triumphantly, "The Divine Weapon crafted by His Majesty himself!" While this technically wasn't completely true, he felt like saying it; it seemed appropriately dramatic.

With a dramatic flash of its wings, the _Peregrine_ swooped down toward the _Ikaruga_. The Knightmare tore into the battleship, ripping open the thick metal covering of the bridge. Before anyone could move, Alterith leveled the _Peregrine_'s Wave Pulse Cannon straight at Ohgi, the barrel glowing menacingly at the Japanese Prime Minister.

"Now," He said, words dripping with the melting frost of his voice, "if you all do not want this nice man's internal organs splattered across the next twenty miles of land from here to China, I suggest you all leave."

The bridge crew all looked at each other in fear, before Minami stepped forward, "Do we have you word that you will not harm him?"

Alterith's smirk was audible, "I give you my word, and it's not something I give lightly."

Minami nodded, "Ohgi?"

"Go." He seemed almost too nervous to speak (and who could blame him?), "I'll be fine."

Nodding again, Minami ushered the others out the door. Taking one last look back at his old friend, he closed the door, sealing it with his own keycard, using a command that could only be superseded by an officer.

Ohgi swallowed tensely as the _Peregrine_'s cockpit slid open with a hiss, fearing that he may have just made his last mistake.

0000000000

After a few minutes, the _Peregrine_ kicked off the _Ikaruga_, flying away from the wrecked battleship toward the sea. It sped past the _Zangetsu_, and it seemed to slow as it passed the _Guren_. The pilot seemed to make up his mind as he fired a slash harken from his Knightmare's shoulder, slicing off the Japanese machine's right arm, and taking the upper arm, from which dangled the Radiant Wave Surger.

"What about Ohgi?" Kallen cried out, maneuvering the _Guren_ toward the _Ikaruga_, its jerking motions not at all reassuring. Rakshata was going to murder her for this.

Minami led the bridge crew back in just as the _Guren_ landed, finding their leader standing in the middle of the wrecked bridge, looking shaken, but unharmed, "Ohgi, are you okay?" He asked.

The Japanese Prime Minister stared off into space, as if in a daze. Then, abruptly, he shook his head, "Uh, yeah." He said, nodding.

"What did that guy want, anyway?"

"He said…" Ohgi paused, then slowly relaxed, "He said that they were never going to stop, and that if we could, we should surrender, otherwise, innocent lives may be lost… Then he called me several names in fourteen different languages."

Minami frowned, "That's it? And also: _fourteen?_"

Ohgi thought about it, but couldn't remember anything else, "Yes, that's it. Although he did spend a lot of time ranting about _'what a dick'_ I am in Japanese. I'm not sure if it's because he did or didn't know I would understand it."

Kallen stared off in the direction the _Peregrine_ had flown as Tohdoh walked up beside her, having landed soon after her, "What are you thinking?" He asked, voice low so as to not alert the others.

The Half-Britannian sighed, "I have a feeling that we're missing something important here."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" She hesitated, "That man, Alterith, he reminded me of someone I once knew. And he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would keep a meeting like that so simple."

Tohdoh half-turned to see Ohgi scratching his head, "I have a feeling that I'll be seeing that man again, soon."

0000000000

_Undisclosed location, Pacific Ocean, 1:56 PM Local Time_

Alterith smirked as the _Peregrine_ touched down in the cargo bay, the gigantic doors closing above them. Sliding down the line, he dropped to the ground to kneel in front of Lelouch, standing in the bay with Jeremiah, "Salutations Majesty. I took the liberty of giving Ohgi a piece of my mind."

Lelouch frowned, "Alterith, you know that will just set him against us even more strongly."

Alterith looked up, grinning, "Of course. It will be that much easier to depose him once the people realize that yours is the better way of governing."

He returned to the open seat of the cockpit block and began manipulating the controls, "I have urgent business I must attend to."

"Oh?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow as the _Peregrine_ flared its energy wings, "You didn't mention this before."

"I didn't think it was important." Alerith said, reviewing a notepad he had drawn from his coat, "I'll be back by nightfall."

"I've made all the necessary arrangements." Lelouch said, "They will be unable to resist, as long as the technology functions properly."

"It will, believe me." Alterith replied, the _Peregrine_ humming beneath him, "Also, you might want to find some nice clothing in the event that we may improbably need to attend a wedding."

"What?" Lelouch yelled, alarmed.

"See you later!"

With that parting quip, the _Peregrine_ shot into the sky, a dark blur headed toward the west. Lelouch and Jeremiah both turned to leave, wondering what the errant Time Lord was planning. In the _Peregrine_'s cockpit, Alterith grimaced.

"This has to work." He muttered to himself, "We don't have enough strength, even if the other two join us willingly. We need another Ace. That is why I have to do this, my king. So that the Plan can follow through." He glanced at a lone piece of paper wedged between the controls and the screen, depicting a smiling family of three, all Japanese, "I have to bring this one back. I don't know if I can do it, given that I have lost my powers, but this is the only way it can work!"

He let the _Peregrine_ loose, unleashing its full speed as he readjusted his course.

0000000000

_International Airspace, _Absolute Zero _Main Deck, Trajectory to Horai Island_

The _Absolute Zero_ was the pride and joy of Britannia, the mechanical brainchild of the Empire's two best scientists, Lloyd Asplund and Cécile Croomy. It boasted two Knightmare-loaded hangars, fifteen gun turrets, and the most recent technology available. It was constantly being updated by its "parents," who insisted on overseeing the modifications personally. The name, however, seemed strange to the masses. Many people took to spreading rumors: that the Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire was absolutely _besotted_ with the Masked Hero, Zero. While this was not entirely untrue, the number of people who knew what it really meant could be counted on the fingers of one hand…

Well, two hands. The _Absolute Zero_ was a covert homage to the Empresses older brother, whom only a handful of people knew the truth of; the truth that he had been the first Zero. An even smaller number of people knew the dirty truth behind the Ninety-Ninth Emperor's assassination, and one of those was the Empress herself.

But that was a moot point. For now, Gino Weinberg, the Empress's personal Knight, was unaware of those complications. His current job was to monitor the surrounding area, so as to analyze any possible threats as quickly as possible. So far, his day had been uneventful. A few passenger planes here, a few military transports there, but nothing he could dig up any interest for. He wished he could go back to simpler times, when all he had to care for was himself and his _Tristan_… Well, and the several hundred enemies who threw themselves at him. That is not to say he was a warmonger, or even that he liked to fight. The simple truth was that he was utterly, depressingly, desperately bored out of his skull. He longed for some adventure, some excitement. It was a part of who he was.

_'Maybe I'm just not cut out for peace.'_ He thought to himself.

He was about to call somebody to watch the radar for him while he got a cup of coffee, when the scanners suddenly went berserk.

"WARNING!" It blared, a loud alarm going off, "Unidentified craft entering perimeter. Design consistent with Knightmare Frame."

Gino's eyes widened with excitement, "Yes!" He crowed, startling everyone on the bridge. An unidentified craft meant he had the authority to investigate, as long as he followed procedure, "UFC," He hailed the Knightmare, using the international code for unidentified flying crafts, "this is Gino Weinberg, captain of the _Absolute Zero_. We request that you bring your frame in for inspection and surrender to interrogation." When no reply came, he hailed again, "This is your last warning, UFC. If you do not respond, we will send a Knightmare out to apprehend you."

This time, a voice responded, uttering only four words, "Come and get me."

With that, the dot that represented the Knightmare blurred, then became a line, streaking across the screen toward Japan, faster than any other Knightmare Gino had seen, "What's its flight path?" He called out.

Another crew member answered, "As long as he does not deviate from his path, it will fly past Tokyo, passing over Kaminejima Island."

"Understood," Gino said, "deploy the _Tristan_. Inform Empress Nunnally of my departure."

"Yes, my Lord."

In the _Peregrine_'s cockpit, Alterith smiled. Even if they sent a fighter after him, it would do no good, "That's right, follow me, Gino. Perhaps you will be of some use to me…"

In half an hour, he had landed on Kamine Island, better known as Kaminejima to the Japanese. He hid the _Peregrine_ in a cave and walked to another large cave carved into the side of a cliff. Inside, he found the ruins of a stone door carved into the rock face, with pieces of rubble littering the surrounding area. Scorch marks on the wall indicated an explosion. But he didn't need to see these things to know what had happened. Lelouch had told him.

"So," He said, muttering to himself, "this is the Door to the C's World…"

He placed a hand on the door, whispering a few words, as if trying to figure out the password to a computer. The wrecked door, glowed with red light, the pieces on the ground doing the same, even some of the dust on the floor participating. The glowing pieces of refuse began to shift, pulled toward the door by some unseen force. They seemed to play out a theatrical detonation in reverse, flying upward before coming back together in midair and restoring the door to its previous state. Alterith removed his hand from the door and slumped against it.

"I didn't anticipate that a reversal spell would be so taxing, even using the door as a medium…" He muttered, then straightened, "No time to rest, I have a job to do."

He opened the door and strode in, allowing it to shut behind him. He was standing on a platform in the midst of a brightly lit sky, clouds trailing at the edge of the horizon. He stepped to the center of the platform solemnly. Hearing a rustling behind him, he whirled, drawing his scythe in a fluid, practiced motion, then relaxing when he saw the source.

"Oh, it's you."

0000000000

_Ninety Spicetastic Minutes Later, Kaminejima, Japan_

Gino landed the _Tristan_ on the island's shores, making his way inland. The scanner had detected a life form in one of the caves, and he was going in to investigate. He ran around the island's coastline until he had reached the sheer cliffs on one side. He vaguely remembered a rebellion taking place here, but nothing clear. As he began to search, he noticed a dark, vaguely human shape staggering out of a cave.

Drawing his weapon, he leveled it at the figure as it drew near, "Hands in the air and show me some identification!"

"You want me to do what?" The figure yelled. Gino was about to reiterate his statement, when the figure spoke again, "And why would I do that?" Obviously, the man was talking to himself… and also crazy, "Yes, yes, alright. If it will get _you_ out of my head…"

At this point, the man tripped over his own feet and landed face-first in the dirt. Momentarily forgetting his situation, Gino rushed forward to help the man, "Are you okay?" He asked, helping the man to his feet.

The man said nothing. Instead, he raised his head and looked Gino in the eye, a bright crimson iris on the right, with a steel grey on the left. The two eyes seemed to pin him in place. There was a flash of scarlet, and Gino fell to him knees, the legs he stood on unable to support him. The man looked at him quizzically, then walked past, heading toward the other side of the island. In a few minutes, Gino saw a Knightmare rise above the trees, jet black with dark violet energy wings. It hovered over him for a moment, then flew off toward the rising moon, a bright purple blur in the night.

In the _Peregrine_'s cockpit, Alterith grinned, "I hope you appreciate everything I do for you." He paused, his face getting more serious, "Well of course it had to be him. He was the only living human around for miles. I couldn't very well walk around with _two_ souls, now could I?" A moment passed, "Still, you had better remember who you work for, or I'll send you back to the Hell you came from."

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, the _Right on Time_, Pacific Ocean, 11:12 AM, Next Day_

"So, was your trip worth it?" Jeremiah asked.

"Completely. Thanks to my expedition, I now know that we can summon an ace when we have need of one." Alterith answered smoothly.

"Also, if I may ask, when will you be finished?"

"I'll finish when I finish! Let me breath!"

The pair were sitting in the forge aboard the _Right on Time_. Metal parts and heavy-duty tools littered the area, along with empty cans of Red Bull stuffed with empty Twinkie wrappers. An iPod dock in the corner blared AC/DC's "High Voltage" as the Lord of Time hummed along. A wing-like plate of orange metal lay upturned in Alterith's left hand, exposing the grotesque inner workings of Jeremiah's mechanical body, revealing the frame that had replaced a portion of his skull. With several screws between his teeth, the Lord of Time was attempting to pry a ring of glowing pink Sakuradite from the inside of the orange mask. The cyborg owner of the mask was currently hooked up to the _Peregrine_ via jumper cables, the Knightmare humming quietly in the cargo bay, barely audible through the hole that had been punched in the drywall between the two rooms.

"Remind why you feel the need to replace my power source." Jeremiah said, his mechanical eye lolling in its socket.

Alterith grunted as the Sakuradite ring came free of its bindings, "As of now, you are vulnerable to the effects of the Gefion Disturber." He tossed the ring into a disposal bin, "I intend to correct that rather obvious design flaw."

"Oh?" Jeremiah asked, lifting a ring of glass and coiled metal at the Time Lord's beckoning, "How so?"

Alterith took the ring, placing it a clay mould and feeding it to the strange contraption he'd built in the forge, "By using a different source. I'm supersaturating this metal with high energy composite particles." He smiled as he stoked the flames with the bellows, "Think of it like a self-contained Bound-State Particle Engine, capable of duplicating them using miniaturized components of the SR Drives. You will no longer be affected by the Disturbers." Within minutes the ring was shining brightly as streaks of violet light arced through its insides.

"Good idea, but couldn't it have waited?" Jeremiah pried the ring from its mould, handing it to Alterith, who replaced it where the pink ring of Sakuradite had been, "Unless it has to do with the _Seraphim_…"

"It does indeed." Alterith stated firmly, handing the mask to Jeremiah, "You understand the ramifications this will have if the Plan is to be carried through, don't you?"

"I see." Jeremiah said as he gazed at his comrade through his robotic eye, "I see very clearly…"

0000000000

In his stately quarters on the _Right on Time_, Lelouch looked stolidly at the pictures lain out before him, picking each up and setting it back down. He knew that each of these people would have a crucial role to play in his plans, but he had yet to choose who to recruit first. As he looked at the images, one stood out above the rest, a pair of blue eyes dominating the others.

"And so it begins." He muttered as he placed a finger on the portrait, "Very well, then. My first target shall be you… Big Brother!"

He looked up as Jeremiah entered, the Margrave kneeling before him, "Have you need of my services, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, get me the timetable for the departure of the Britannian Empress from the UFN Conference. I'm going to have you and Alterith stage an attack while I enlist my _dear_ elder brother to our cause."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Demon Emperor stood, his cloak sweeping regally behind him as he donned his mask. He saw Alterith standing at the bow, one foot braced against the railing as he directed the Australian crew to repair the damage done to the ship some weeks ago when they had scraped against a reef.

"Why do you fight for me, Alterith?" Lelouch asked absentmindedly.

Alterith broke off from his task as he half-turned, looking at his contractor out of the corner of his eye, "Tell me, my king, do you know who you are?"

"Of course." Lelouch answered without hesitation.

"Then would you tell me?" Alterith gazed at him seriously, expecting an answer.

Lelouch thought to himself for a while before replying, "I am… Omega." As he said that, he spun on his heel and walked off toward the cockpit. Alterith returned to his duties, putting one arm on his raised knee, only stirring when he heard another voice.

"Something on your mind?" Jeremiah asked, holding a sheaf of papers beneath his arm.

Alterith rested his chin in his hand, "Today, I spared two people against whom I hold a deep-running grudge. I would have preferred to kill them, but my heart tells me that they both have a hand in what is to come, and that the Plan cannot be completed without them."

Jeremiah nodded in commiseration, before turning to leave, "I must deliver these papers to His Majesty." Before he left though, he paused, "Alterith, why _do_ you hold such a grudge against the Black Knights?"

"That," Alterith said, pushing off the railing to move toward the forecastle, "is a family matter." And as Jeremiah left to relay his papers, Alterith barked out one more order.

"Keep working at it, you louts!"

0000000000

_Three Days Later, The _Absolute Zero_, Trajectory to Washington D.C., 2:00 PM Local Time_

Gino stood once again at the helm of the _Absolute Zero_, having recovered from the dizziness, nausea, and uncontrollable tap-dancing that he had been suffering from since he had run into that man on Kaminejima. He had learned from Kallen and Tohdoh, that the man was Alterith, and that the Omega Conglomerate, as they were now known, was being funded by someone with a lot of money. His Knightmare, the _Peregrine_, was the fastest that either had ever seen before, with footage of the Frame confounding Rakshata, the UFN's Head of Science.

Gino, however, remained skeptical. According to Professor Lloyd Asplund, Her Majesty's Chief of Science, the energy used to power the machine's unbelievable speed could not be produced by any method he knew of. No scientist in the world had thought of a way to catalyze so much energy. Until now, it seemed. Gino looked up as one of the radar operators yelled out.

"Unidentified Knightmare Frame heading toward us!"

In a moment the bridge was a flurry of activity. Checking, double checking, triple checking, and triple checking the triple checking. At last, the Knightmare came into view. It was the _Peregrine_, holding a portly man in its right palm, the left raised and ready to fire.

"_The objective of this operation is the seizure of the Britannian prince._" Lelouch said over the radio, _"Keep him safe, understood?_"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The pilot and passenger replied.

"Ready for this, Jonesey?" Alterith asked, a note of confidence in his voice.

"Born ready!" Jones replied, clinging to the _Peregrine_'s right thumb.

"As soon as they fire at us, that gives us the all-clear. So get ready!"

Their welcome party was not long in coming. The _Absolute Zero_'s artillery batteries swiveled, targeting the _Peregrine_. As they fire, Alterith yanked on the controls, sending the machine into a complicated spiral as he laughed madly in his cockpit. He swerved sharply around the battle-cruiser's midsection, landing lightly on the top as he placed Jones down on its metal skin. With a swift movement, the _Peregrine_'s left arm lashed out, driving a long gash in the side of the ship. Jones slipped inside and beyond the corridor before the ship's blast doors closed.

The _Peregrine_ kicked off, spinning as two dozen Knightmares rocketed out of the hangar bay, firing intermittently. The _Absolute Zero_'s alarms rang out loudly, alerting the passengers and crew to an intruder and a Knightmare. Inside, Jones raced down a corner to the last place anyone would expect him to go: the barracks. He snuck inside as a group of soldiers rounded the corner, running past him on their way to the site of the break-in. He quickly donned a uniform, then moved to the computer to access the ship's onboard system, searching. He was nearly there when another voice called out to him.

"What are you doing?"

He froze, half-turning, then relaxed when he saw who it was. What luck, what fortune! The prey had come to its predator like a fly to a pitcher plant, "I apologize, Your Highness," He said humbly, "I felt I could be of help here, and I was going to monitor the ship's onboard camera's to find the intruder." He prayed his ploy would work.

"Oh, I see." The Prince said, nodding, "That's fine. Stay here and search for him, Major…" He trailed off, reading the color-coded bars on Jones' shoulder.

"Underhill." Jones replied instantly, "Major Jackson Underhill."

"Right," The Prince said, turning and drawing his gun, "I have a duty to protect my little sister."

He never heard the whistle of a spinning kick aimed at the back of his head turned, nor did he see the floor when he made contact with it.

Jones crouched down, taking out a vial of blood from Lelouch. Doing as directed, he poured the blood across the royal's chest, then swiftly made a hole in his shirt, to give the appearance of a wound. As soldiers began to arrive from the other side of the ship, he yelled that a man was down, and that the assailant had fled away from the hole in the ship. After incapacitating the medic they had left him, he called Alterith by his earpiece.

"Ready when you are, Alterith."

"Sorry, Jonesey," Alterith grunted, a crashing sound in the background, "This is kind of a bad time. I'm having a spot of trouble defeating all of them."

"All of them?" Jones asked, "Who else is there?"

"They sent in the _Tristan_, and then they radioed for backup from Tokyo." Alterith's voice seemed strained, "And on top of that, Kururugi brought the _Albion_."

"Oh," Jones said noncommittally, "so, when are you coming to pick me up?"

Alterith sighed, "Five minutes…"

0000000000

_Three Minutes Earlier, Same Location_

The _Peregrine_ soared through the air, wreaking havoc on the pitiable troops sent after it. As it finished off the last, sending the unfortunate pilot into a spiral only stopped when the cockpit ejected, followed by an explosion, he was beset by another Knightmare Frame, blue and red as it sailed from the _Absolute Zero_, shedding the smoke that had accumulated throughout the sky.

"Gino." Alterith muttered, "Out of my way!" He sent the _Peregrine_ into a dizzying corkscrew toward the ocean, sending up a plume of spray as he pulled out, zooming above the waves.

The _Tristan_ followed, shifting into its jet-like form as it pursued its quarry. The two Knightmares continued their aerial ballet as the Australian Agent on the _Absolute Zero_ went about his mission. The _Peregrine_ became a streak of purple light, driving a hole through the ocean's waves as it made a sharp U-turn. It kicked the _Tristan_ in the face, then vanished in a blur before the Britannian Pilot could even blink.

"I grow tired of this stalemate, let us end this!" Alterith yelled.

"I agree!" Gino answered.

The _Peregrine_ hovered a thousand feet above the _Tristan_ as it fired its Wave Pulse Cannon. The _Tristan_ quickly whipped its slash harkens up, combining them to fire an energy blast. A blazing point of light shone from the _Peregrine_ as it fired. The _Tristan_'s energy blast was no match, dissipating as the ocean erupted into a foaming circle of destruction beneath it. Gino cried out as the _Tristan_ was heaved violently about. When the wave had passed, he looked up to see the _Peregrine_ hovering before him, and his Knightmare inoperable.

"Gino," Alterith intoned gravely, "I'll destroy you, _and_ your cheap Megatron imitation, here and now."

"What?" Before the _Peregrine_ could fire, a beam of red light arced out of the sky, hissing past the _Tristan_ as the black Knightmare vanished, reappearing a hundred feet up, "Kallen?" Gino turned to see the _Guren_ flying beside the _Zangetsu_, along with a blue _Akatsuki_, "Kallen, Tohdoh!" He called, "You came!"

"Of course." Tohdoh's gruff voice responded, "When we got the distress call, we mobilized our three best pilots."

"That's right." Chiba added, for it was she who piloted the _Akatsuki_, "We want a word with this man."

Alterith's eyes flashed dangerously, "Tohdoh Kyoshiro! You betrayer!" He roared, manipulating his Knightmare's controls, "Bring all the Gundams you like, you can't beat me!"

The _Peregrine_ fired its Hadron Cannon, battering the _Guren_, but doing little damage. The red Frame flew upward, attempting to match the _Peregrine_'s speed, but unable to catch up to it as it soared away, a dark, barely-visible blur that sped upward, then stopped, once again becoming recognizable as the _Peregrine_. It fired a barrage of energy shards from its wings, but the _Guren_ countered easily, blocking with its newly-replaced Radiant Wave Surger. Kallen was beginning to understand her enemy's machine.

_'Its attacks aren't very powerful, and it relies primarily on its speed. So if I can get in close…'_ Her thoughts trailed off as her mouth finished, "I'll have the advantage!"

The _Guren_ surged upward, flying at the _Peregrine_, which swiftly dodged. Alterith operated the controls furiously, sending the _Peregrine_ into another kill-spiral, this time heading straight for the _Tristan_. It drew its scythe, clearly intent on destroying the crippled Frame. Kallen knew she was in a lose-lose situation. If Chiba, who hovered near the _Tristan_, moved to block it, she'd be cut in half. But if she didn't, then Gino would.

She closed her eyes as there was an ear-splitting screech. When she dared to open them, she was astonished at what she saw. The _Albion_ had blocked the _Peregrine_'s attack with its own sword, the MVS having shattered under the weight of the blow.

"Am I late?" Zero asked.

"Not at all, Commander," Tohdoh answered, "you're just in time."

"Kururugi…" Alterith snarled to himself, "I'll see you defeated here and now!"

He readied his scythe for another attack, but was forced to dodge as an arc of energy from the Radiant Wave Surger shot toward him. He fired a barrage of energy shards, making use of his machine's speed to ascend to the lower edge of the troposphere, firing a Hadron Beam at the gathering of Knightmares, scattering them. The claws of the _Peregrine_'s left arm retracted once more as a brilliant light exploded high above. The attack did only marginal damage to the Knightmares, painting a circle of agitated water beneath them as the _Guren_ absorbed part of the attack with a Radiant Wave blast. Alterith growled angrily as he realized he was surrounded on all sides, press by the _Albion_ from above, the _Guren_, _Zangetsu_, and _Akatsuki_ from below.

"It ends here." Suzaku said as the _Albion_ raised its VARIS rifle, "Goodbye, Alterith."

"I think not, Zero" Alterith answered, switching to a private communications channel, "My king, I believe that it is time to open the horse."

"Ah, but our rook has already moved to put them in check." Lelouch replied smugly, lifting another earpiece, "Jeremiah?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The surface of the ocean below exploded as an unidentified object flew out. As it rose swiftly, it shed the shell of water that obscured it, emerging as a whirlwind of orange and green death. It shot upward, a deadly streak of iridescent jade and dull red, severing the _Guren_'s arm and the _Albion_'s VARIS, causing the rifle to explode in midair, pushing the _Albion_ back. When at last the vortex had ceased its deadly rotation, the gathered UFN soldiers saw it for what it was. A huge orange machine, punctuated by eight green spikes, evenly spaced along its skin. From its sides, six jade-colored energy feathers bristled lethally, as if in challenge.

"Is that you, Orange?" Tohdoh yelled as the Knightmare sent a slash-harken ramming into his shields.

"Tohdoh Kyoshiro." Jeremiah said, "As I once remember, we once fought under the same banner, yet you opposed and still oppose my master. Regardless, I must rid the world of His Majesty's opponents. Therefore, with this _Deutschland Siegfried_, ALL HAIL LELOUCH!" He cried passionately, sending the _Siegfried_ into a lateral spin, cutting away the _Zangetsu_'s legs.

Tohdoh growled, "Your master was a tyrant and a coward!"

"You dare—!" Alterith roared, but was cut off by Jeremiah as he fired a barrage of emerald shards at the _Zangetsu_, puncturing its shields and riddling the Frame's limbs with Sakuradite-charged shrapnel.

"Alterith, leave this to me, get to the _Absolute Zero_." Jeremiah commanded, evading a slash harken fired by the _Guren_, "We still have a task to accomplish."

"Right," Alterith responded, blocking a slash from the _Albion_, "but leave Tohdoh to me."

The _Peregrine_'s wings flared as it charged toward the _Absolute Zero_. The _Guren_ attempted to follow, but was block as the _Siegfried_ intercepted the Japanese Frame, spinning like a deadly roulette.

"Out of the way!" Kallen yelled, "I'm going to stop you!"

"I won't let you!" Jeremiah snarled in return, a hatch opening on the _Siegfried_'s front as he spoke, firing a spray of Hadron Blasts, "You betrayed His Majesty, and that is unforgiveable!"

Alterith's thoughts were in the same vein as Jeremiah's as he let Jones and the captured Britannian Prince into the cockpit of his Knightmare, "Once, before, you had the ability to defeat us, Schneizel…"

His voice broadcasted to Jeremiah, who continued the sentence, "… Back then, we had no way to oppose you, but now…"

Lelouch smirked as he finished, "… we're the ones who are controlling the game!"

**And that's the end of that! Now, before I'm done, let me say a few words.**

**First, I'd like to thank Justicez and Souls of Fire for beta-ing for me (and putting up with me.)**

**Second, can any of you guess who was and who will be recruited next?**

**And lastly, VOTE FOR HOW LELOUCH SHOULD REVEAL HIMSELF TO THE WORLD! IT'S URGENT!**

**The poll is on my profile page, so everyone go there and VOTE!**

**Next Lap: "Perfection's Façade"**


	6. Lap 6

**A lot of you have been berating me for not letting C.C. reunite with Lelouch. IT WILL HAPPEN! Just, not right now. Be patient, and don't flame me or I will send out my army of ninja squirrels to "take care" of you…**

**Lap 5: Perfection's Façade (Formerly Known as: Royally Screwed)**

_"They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I'm going to miss mine by just a few days."_ ~Garrison Kieler

_'The Nations of the World owe their standing to Zero. The People of the World owe their freedom to Zero. Yes, the time is coming, for the true Zero to take command. For the World to move forward together, actions must be taken now… for only the hands that turn the world can stem the flow of time…'_

0000000000

_The_ Absolute Zero_, Trajectory to Washington D.C., 2:13 PM, July 4, 2020 A.T.B._

The _Guren_'s systems screamed at the abuse put upon them by the battle, every screen flashing crimson, every klaxon trumpeting loudly, signaling the Japanese Knightmare's distress. The sky around it was filled with flickering lights, like a child's painting liberally sprinkled with glitter. However, this radiance was no imagined landscape, but the work of a devastating Knightmare Frame known as the _Siegfried_, or, more accurately, the _Deutschland Siegfried_, upon the three best fighters of the Japanese military. The _Lancelot Albion_, the Knightmare Frame used by the Black Knights' leader, Zero, better known as Kururugi Suzaku, had lost its VARIS rifle to the whirling energy feathers of the _Siegfried_, and the _Guren_ had been separated from its arm. The _Peregrine_ rushed into view, tackling the crippled _Zangetsu_ in midair. The cockpit opened as the pilot leaped out, standing on the interlocked arms of their Knightmares as the cockpit of his Frame was closed by a portly man who knelt behind the command chair.

"Tohdoh Kyoshiro!" Alterith's voice boomed as he brandished his scythe, "I challenge you to single combat, you dishonorable wretch!"

"You dare to impugn my honor!" Tohdoh yelled, exiting the cockpit, "Die!"

He rushed forward, drawing his katana and swinging it in a broad arc at Alterith. His slash missed as Alterith leaped into the air, coat billowing in the gale generated by new blows exchanged by the _Siegfried_ and _Albion_, Jeremiah firing a hail of missiles from the Knightmare's lower-front hatch. He brought the scythe down, the crescent blade cutting through air as Tohdoh jumped backward. Bringing the blade of his katana up, Tohdoh studied his opponent. The man's bearing was firm, signaling confidence, and his strokes were powerful, conveying strength. But the man's style of combat seemed ever shifting, like a palace built upon a foundation of sand.

"Who are you?" Tohdoh asked loudly, weathering a shockwave from the explosion of one of the _Siegfried_'s missiles.

Alterith spun his scythe in a clockwise motion, bringing the head of the staff down, the curved blade of the weapon facing upward, "My name is Alterith. I am the Knight of Omega, the Long-X ību of China. And I am the instrument of your destruction!"

At this he rushed forward, swinging his scythe in a low sweep. Tohdoh stepped back, bringing his sword up to block the next slash, delivering a jarring blow to his arm as the scythe clanged against his sword.

In the skies, Jeremiah worked furiously to defeat his two opponents. Despite the loss of its primary weapon, the _Guren_ wasn't beaten yet. It flew forth, wielding its MVS dirk as it cut toward the _Siegfried_. The bigger Frame spun out of the way, then fired two slash harkens after it, catching it by the foot.

"Catch a tiger by his toe…" Jeremiah muttered, wondering what made him think of a children's rhyme in this situation as he piloted the _Siegfried_.

He ran the machine by thought, having dredged up the remains of the _Sutherland Sieg_ over a year ago at Alterith's request, the nerve-potential system being salvaged to be integrated into the _Deutschland Siegfried_. The Time Lord had admitted that he had some skill in Knightmare designing, and had worked under the pseudonym Elliot Alfred Games on the original Ganymede under Reuben Knowles Ashford, before Lady Marianne had died. He had remade the _Siegfried_ from fragments of the original blueprints that had been tracked down by Mr. Jones, and was working on a new Knightmare that he consistently referred to as "his precious," usually while muttering in a hoarse, guttural voice, refusing to let anyone so much as loiter near the tarp-covered machine.

He sent the machine into a nauseatingly fast corkscrew as he rammed the _Albion_, digging into the white Knightmare with his Knightmare's energy wings, "You can't defeat me! So long as my loyalty stands, I will prevail! All Hail Lelouch!" He cried as he spun away, dragging the _Guren_ into a collision with the _Lancelot_. The orange Knightmare fired a barrage of energy shards just as Alterith floored Tohdoh with a flurry of slashes, the blade of the katana embedded into the _Zangetsu_'s hide.

"Well," Alterith said, flourishing with his scythe, "you lasted longer than most." He stepped forward, then struck Tohdoh under the chin with a well-placed roundhouse kick, "I despise you Tohdoh Kyoshiro, for what you did to Zero the First."

"The first Zero was a tyrant, why do you support him?" Tohdoh groaned.

"Fool!" Alterith spat, "You still don't understand!" His demeanor relaxed, "I suppose I should kill you, but first I'm going to ask you a question." His eyes narrowed, "How's the old man?"

Nearly a mile away, Chiba gasped as Tohdoh was at the mercy of his opponent, "Weinberg," She radioed the Britannian, "can you take care of yourself for a while?"

"Yeah," Gino answered, "I'll be fine. After all," He smiled ruefully, "the heart wants what the heart wants, eh?"

At this, Chiba blushed profusely, "Thank you." With that, she accelerated her _Akatsuki_ as she rushed toward the man she loved, "I only hope I'm not too late…"

Tohdoh was completely bewildered, "What?"

"How's your dad?" Alterith asked, smiling slightly, "Old Man Tohdoh Hayate, how is he?"

"He's in Japan." Tohdoh answered, "Why?"

"I should probably visit." Alterith mused to himself, "I wonder how he'll feel to see his old friend."

"Do you intend to completely destroy the peace that's come about since that Demon was destroyed?" Tohdoh yelled at him.

Alterith's eyes flashed dangerously, "You owed your life to that man, and you betrayed him." He stepped forward and gripped Tohdoh by his collar, pulling him upright, "You owed your friends' lives to that man, and you betrayed him!" The Knight of Omega was absolutely livid now, "You owed your very _existence_ to that man! He made you what you are now! Without him, you are nothing!" He reeled back and struck Tohdoh across the face, "I should kill you now." He said, punching the Japanese General again. Finally, he struck the final blow, a tornado kick to the head, knocking the man unconscious. But as Alterith bent to pick up his scythe to deliver the finishing blow, he was interrupted by an anguish-laden voice.

"Stop!"

He whirled, seeing a third Knightmare Frame hovering nearby: a navy-blue _Akatsuki Command Unit_. He narrowed his eyes, beckoning the pilot to exit wordlessly. Having no choice, Chiba opened her cockpit, scrambling out to stand before the man who held Tohdoh's life in his hands. Quietly, she pleaded.

"I'm begging you, don't kill him…" She whispered, tears pooling in her eyes, "Please.

Alterith looked at her, studying her, then he smiled, "I see. Your request is selfish, but your heart is pure." He glanced at Tohdoh, "You really love this man, don't you?"

Chiba blushed furiously at his question before nodding, "Yes."

"Then I propose a game."

"Game?" Chiba wondered aloud, seeing Alterith smiling kindly.

"Yes. I won't kill him, as long as you can make him fall for you…" Alterith replied, "Despite the fact that you betrayed Lelouch, I'm willing to forgive you on the condition that you make Tohdoh Kyoshiro fall for you before everything's over." He released his hold on the General, shoving him back to slump against Chiba's legs, "Don't disappoint me, Chiba Nagisa."

With those parting word, Alterith turned, making a spinning leap to the _Peregrine_'s cockpit. As he parted his Knightmare from the _Zangetsu_, Chiba knelt beside Tohdoh. The General stirred weakly, rolling on his side, his head falling on her knees. She gasped quietly at this and smiled, patting his head.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Alterith rushed to the site of battle, where Jeremiah was holding off both his opponents with skill, but before he could say anything, his phone rang, "What?" He tapped the earpiece, "Hello, Alterith ver Degralis speaking."

"Hey, Ally!"

"Milly! How good to hear from you!" He said, half-nervously, "Listen, I'm in the middle of something here, so can you make it quick?"

"Sure, Ally!" Milly said, using the nickname she had given him throughout their numerous talks.

He had taken to calling her for the sheer pleasure of enjoying the company of one who was nearly as deranged as he was. Most people would disagree, saying that Milly was worse, but they were nearly on par; he just hid it better, "But, I always have time for a friend!" He cheered.

"Great!" Milly replied enthusiastically, then turned serious, "So, I have a problem."

"Ooh, I love those."

"Hush. I need to find an ordained priest, but everyone that I contact has other engagements on the sixth."

"The sixth?" Alterith asked, "Is something happening then?"

"I'm getting married, you fool!" She shrieked, causing him to cringe.

"Oh, right." He gave the issue some thought, "I have an idea." After relating his plan to her, she readily agreed.

"Alright, don't forget, the day after tomorrow. And don't you dare cancel on us!"

"Us?"

"Rivalz and me!"

"Was that his name?"

She giggled, "You're funny. Talk to you soon!"

"Right." He finished, hanging up. After smiling to himself for a minute, he contacted Jeremiah, "Time to wrap this up, Orange Boy!" He cried.

"Very well!" Jeremiah roared in reply, "_Siegfried_!"

"GUNDAM _Peregrine_!" Alterith answered.

"Attack!"

The final acts of the battle were over in a moment. In an instant, a long-barreled cannon slid from a hatch in the _Siegfried_'s underbelly, targeting the _Albion_, which still had enough weaponry to put up a fight. Likewise, the _Peregrine_ rendered its left arm to its cannon form, taking aim at the _Absolute Zero_. From this distance, the battleship would merely be immobilized for a few minutes. As the _Albion_ moved to block the _Peregrine_'s shot, Jeremiah fired. A brilliant orange beam arced from the weapon, and the _Lancelot_ caught the blast on its arm-mounted Blaze Luminous.

"That won't work!" Zero yelled defiantly.

"Your shield matters little!" Jeremiah cried with bravado, "My loyalty overpowers all!"

The _Albion_ shuddered as the orange ray sliced through its shield, consuming its left arm. The machine rocked violently as the blast dissipated. Where the _Albion_ had been struck, it seemed that some behemoth had devoured the apparatus. The right wing had likewise been severed, the green planes of energy no longer existing. As the _Siegfried_ finished its work, the _Peregrine_ began, the signature point of light flaring to life, then winking out and collapsing. Kallen, who hovered between the Black Frame and the battleship, braced herself for the inevitable wave. She was not disappointed. The wave struck, thrashing the _Guren_ violently, tearing off parts of the outer metal. The _Absolute Zero_ suffered little better, with the wave throwing the battleship's occupants around horribly, but leaving it relatively untouched, but unable to move due to damage to the Sakuradite power cells.

As the two Knights of omega soared toward the horizon, Jeremiah left his parting words, "Now you have suffered the wrath of my loyalty. Do not _ever_ make the mistake of underestimating me again."

0000000000

_The_ Absolute Zero_, Hangar Bay 4, 2:56 PM_

Suzaku coughed beneath his mask, wishing that the memento from his best friend wasn't so damn stuffy. He kicked a piece of shrapnel that fell from the ruined left arm as he staggered toward the wreck of the _Guren_. He found Gino there, working furiously to wrench open the malfunctioning cockpit block. Taking a crowbar from a helpful technician, Suzaku aided Gino in prying open the _Guren_'s cockpit. As they did, Kallen fell out, having fainted against the door due to a minor case of heat exhaustion.

Gino followed Zero, carrying Kallen as they made their way toward the Empresses quarters. He knew that this Zero was not the real one, and also had a very good idea of who the imposter was, but stayed silent, not wanting to betray this secret. By the time they reached Nunnally's rooms, word had already been sent ahead to inform her. The door was opened as they approached.

"Please come in, Zero." Nunnally said in an authoritative voice, sitting in her wheelchair in the center of the room, "Gino, bring Kallen and come in as well."

Suzaku lead the way in as he sat on one of his friends lavish couches, "I thank you for your hospitality, and for agreeing to host I and the Black Knights."

"It was the least we could do in repayment for your aid." Nunnally replied kindly, but with a false edge of diplomacy, "Besides, our engines are currently inoperable, so we cannot resume our previous course." She turned to the aids that still remained, "Leave us."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The men responded, vacating the room.

As they left, the door was sealed from the inside by Gino, whose commands superseded all others but the Empress', "Now, Zero, I think it's safe for you to remove your mask."

"Are you sure, Your Majesty?" Suzaku asked, hand hovering at his chin.

"It's not like anyone here doesn't know your true identity already…" Gino answered, looking slyly at Zero, "Suzaku."

Suzaku drew a sharp breath at this, then slowly removed his mask, "It's good to see you again, Gino."

"Well, I wish I could say the same." Gino replied jokingly, punching Suzaku on the shoulder, "But really, I pieced the whole thing together only a few months back, when I found out from Milly that Lelouch and Nunnally had taken shelter there after the Occupation of Japan."

At this point, it is worthy of note that a few months after the Zero Requiem, Jeremiah Gottwald had paid the two remaining members of the Ashford Academy Student Council a visit, and had restored their true memories, leaving them to their own devices to form what conclusions they will.

"So I concluded that his whole world-domination scheme, and then his assassination must have been all planned out." Gino finished, astonishing everyone in the room.

"You figured that out all by yourself?" Suzaku asked, genuinely impressed.

"Well, that's not entirely true…"

0000000000

_Flashback, Washington D.C. Imperial Palace_

"Sayoko?" Gino called out, walking through the library, "Hello?"

"Yes, can I help you?" A feminine voice replied, sending Gino into nervous convulsions.

Sweat flowed down his back in rivulets. He knew this woman could kill him on the spot without even trying, and that she wouldn't hesitate to do so. He would need to approach this question _very_ carefully, "I wanted to ask you a question."

"Yes?" Sayoko prompted, stepping out of the shadows of a bookshelf.

"Well, I wanted to know if Lelouch really did everything out of evil. And what's this Zero Requi—?"

He got no further as the point of a kunai knife was jutted beneath his jaw, Sayoko holding him by the shoulders from behind, "Speak one more word and I may have to kill you." She whispered.

"O-okay…" He whimpered.

"You swear on your honor that you will never reveal what I am about to tell you?"

He realized she was offering him a chance to live, as well as the answer to his questions, "Yes, upon my honor." He said, completing the most serious oath that any man could make.

"Very good," Sayoko responded, smiling kindly, "just remember, if any of this gets out, I'll personally murder you in your bed."

0000000000

_Present Day, The _Absolute Zero

"…well, I had some help from Sayoko." Gino half-lied.

"Sayoko was in on the plan from the beginning." Suzaku murmured.

"Really?" Gino asked, feigning surprise, "You couldn't tell…"

As they spoke, the intercom crackled, and an aide spoke hurriedly, "Your Majesty, the casualty record of the ship has been assessed. All in all, we lost about twenty-three Vincents, and the _Tristan Divider_ was badly damaged. However, there were no fatalities."

"That's good." Nunnally answered, "And what of the intruder who was dropped off by that black Knightmare?"

"We have another team assessing that situation, their report shall arrive shortly."

"Good," Nunnally closed her eyes as the line disconnected, then spoke "maybe now we'll know the purpose of this battle."

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, The _Right on Time_, 6:42 PM Local Time_

Two Knightmare Frames ghosted silently through the darkening sky, one a sleek black demon, the other a huge orange behemoth. Both were received easily by the cargo bay of the _Right on Time_, and promptly dropped off of any sensors that happened to be tracking them. As the ceiling doors closed, Alterith ejected from his cockpit, using the custom catapult seat he had built into it, to land lightly on the deck, kneeling before an imposing, masked figure draped in white.

"We've returned, Your Majesty." He said.

"So I gathered." Omega replied, watching as Jeremiah disembarked from the _Deutschland Siegfried_, and Jones followed, dropping their captive to the ground.

The Australian Agent half-carried, half-dragged the Britannian Prince and deposited him at Omega's feet. The man stirred, running a hand through his hair, then looked up, instantly understanding what had transpired.

"What do you want with me?"

"That, brother, is a very simple question." Lelouch replied, removing his mask.

The Prince of Britannia gasped, "It can't be!"

"But I'm afraid it is. You see, I've returned from the dead, my dear brother…"

0000000000

_The _Absolute Zero_, Same Time_

Nunnally looked up as Suzaku donned the Mask of Zero, "You're going?"

The Japanese Leader shook his head, "Someone's coming."

Within seconds, he was proven right, and there was a knock on the door, "Your Majesty, may I come in?"

"Yes, of course." She said, smiling at Suzaku.

Gino looked up, unsurprised as he saw Nunnally's most helpful aide arrive, "Is there news?"

"Yes," The man answered, kneeling before Nunnally, "I'm afraid that one of our lieutenants has gone missing in the attack."

"What?" The Empress cried out in concern, "Who?"

"I'm afraid," Schneizel said, "That it's…"

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, The _Right on Time_, Same Time_

"Odysseus eu Britannia!"

"Lelouch…" The eldest Britannian Prince murmured, "Is it really you? You're alive?"

"Yes, brother," Lelouch said grimly, "I survived."

"But, how?" Odysseus whispered, a tear pooling in his eye, "I thought you said your plan would ensure that you died; you swore me to secrecy!"

"Yes, brother," Lelouch intoned, eyes focused on the one man in his family he knew he could count on, "but it seems that our father, Charles zi Britannia, has played his final trick." He held up his right hand, exposing the red symbol engraved in his skin, "He passed to me the Mark and Burden of a Code bearer, an Immortal." He stepped forward to kneel before his elder brother, the older man still on his hands and knees, "Now I ask you—not as an Emperor, but as a brother—will you stand by me as I attempt to eradicate poverty and discrimination? No…" Odysseus startled as he brother spoke in a deadlier voice, "Poverty and discrimination are only the result of the problem. The real problem is war!"

Odysseus felt that he needed to speak up, "Lelouch, whether by blood or by fealty, we are bound to each other. Yes, I will stand behind you as you go about your duty." His eyes lightened, "Yes, I think I am excited. I will do everything in my power to aid you however I can, though I cannot guarantee that it amounts to much."

"My king," Alterith interjected, "are you saying that we need to eradicate _war_?"

"Yes, Alterith, is that a problem?" Lelouch asked, completely serious, before turning to Odysseus, "Brother, I thank you. Your kind words and decision mean more to me than you know."

"I'm beginning to suspect that we're slipping into Double-O territory here…" Alterith muttered.

"What was that?" Jeremiah asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing…" Alterith replied, rubbing the back of his head, "Allelujah Haptism."

"Will you stop that?" Jeremiah snapped suddenly, "It's making my head hurt!"

Before either of them could say another word, they were both grabbed firmly by the ear by Odysseus, who then turned to Lelouch, "Where shall I put them?"

Lelouch smiled gratefully, "Just drop them in the cargo bay."

Odysseus did as directed, dragging the Lord of Death and the Knight of Orange off balance as he tipped them into the bay that held their Knightmare Frames, dusting off his hands as he finished, "I learned that from having to deal with my disobedient siblings." He eyed Lelouch as he recalled a certain little boy who had not wanted to go to bed when directed.

"I'm past that phase," The younger brother stated, waving off his older kin's knowing look, "Now, we need to be planning for the next phase."

"I'm afraid we have another engagement." Alterith said as he clambered out of the cargo bay, followed by a traumatized Jeremiah, "Literally."

"What are you talking about… Alterith, was it?" Odysseus asked, reaffirming his new comrade's name.

"Yes, Alterith ver Degralis," The self-identified man replied, "but, barring that…" He produced a rectangle of paper from his sleeve, "I believe you are familiar with this place."

Lelouch swallowed nervously as the scar on his chest began to prickle. He had learned over the course of their adventures that the scar usually did so when it sensed impending danger of the unavoidable sort. He reached out and gripped the card with a trembling hand.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Jeremiah asked, moving to his side.

"I'm fine, Jeremiah," He forced, "I'm simply overcome with joy at my friends' happy engagement."

Jeremiah gaped as he saw the card, then fell back, clawing at his eyes, "Oh my God!"

"I see, it must have inadvertently been designed to cause seizures." Alterith murmured, "Though I don't see why Jeremiah is more affected than the rest of us."

"It's most likely due to his robotic eye." Lelouch responded, "It allows him to see sharper, and beyond the spectrum of normal light."

"Ah." Alterith breathed softly, turning the still-writhing Jeremiah over, "Should we just leave him here?"

"Yes, let him rid his head of the image…" Lelouch answered, "Though how Milly managed to build a seizure-inducing card, I'll never know…"

"So…" Alterith said, dragging out the 'oh' sound in an annoyingly high-pitched voice, "You'll be attending, right?"

Lelouch sighed, "If I don't, you'll drug my food and drag me there, won't you?"

"That is correct."

"Then I may as well _choose_ what to wear. The last time you picked my outfit, it caused that riot in San Francisco."

Jeremiah immediately ceased him spasms, the memories of that bizarre day returning in full force, "I always did wonder what happened to the gay clown."

"So, will you be needing my assistance?" Odysseus asked.

"Yes, Odysseus, you came at the perfect time." Alterith declared, "I'll have you running the communications division by the end of the night."

And so began Odysseus' first day at his new job.

0000000000

_Tokyo, Japan, 8:24 PM_

Prime Minister Kaname Ohgi sat behind his desk, looking displeased.

"What I want to know is how two unidentified Knightmare Frames managed to defeat the five best pilots of our generation." He muttered, looking up at the room's other occupants, Kallen, Tohdoh, and Zero, "I suppose it's my fault. I wasn't prepared."

"That is not so." Came another voice, high and feminine, "You bear no blame for what happened. You were no match to begin with."

"C.C." Kallen murmured, "What do you mean? We almost had that guy, and we would have if Jeremiah hadn't shown up!"

"Yes, but it was a confrontation of four against one. Believe me, you will not find it so easy next time." The Geass Witch answered, "They are more experienced than you think."

"He's my age!" Kallen rebuked, "He can't be any older than Chiba."

"And do _I_ not look any older than you?" The woman asked, smirking.

"That's different." Ohgi growled, "You're eternally young and immortal."

"Alterith is also eternally young, and also immortal."

"What?" This was news to Tohdoh, "How long have you known this?"

"Since I saw him appear." C.C. replied, the red and black dress she wore swaying as she moved, "Our paths have crossed numerous times over the past centuries. I first met him at a dance, long ago in the history of my homeland, a long-forgotten nation of beggars, ruled by a line of weak and defunct kings. It's a wonder the revolution didn't start earlier."

"Why didn't you say this earlier?" Ohgi demanded.

C.C. looked at him wryly, "Let's not forget who is in charge of this. I'm here of my own volition. I could leave whenever I want."

"We could detain you." Tohdoh rebutted.

"Please," C.C. chuckled mirthlessly, "I've evaded mortals for centuries. What makes you think that you could hold me better than any before?" She raised a hand, staying any replies, "What worries me is the prowess that this Omega has in strategy. He's almost better than…" She trailed off, unable to speak his name, "But it's more than that. There's another one of us." She tapped her forehead, "Someone with a Code."

"How do you know that?" Zero, who hadn't spoken at all, now piped up, "Could he not have had something to do with the Geass Order? Or he could have met another Code Bearer."

"No, he would never stoop so low as to join the Order; not unless he had cast aside all remnants of dignity." C.C. contradicted, "He's a man of honor, and as for the other Code Bearer…" She trailed off again, lost in thought, "I've had a feeling, like there's something just hovering out of my range of sense. Something connected to Geass."

"So how can we combat him?" Kallen asked, "We can't possibly beat them. They have supremely advanced Knightmares, and an eternity of experience behind them. How are you going turn _this_," She gestured to herself and the others gathered here, "into something that can win?"

"You will win because you will have the one thing that no one else does." Zero stated plainly.

Kallen startled, understanding instantly, "D-do you mean—"

"Yes!" Zero snapped, "Lloyd and Rakshata are already working to tune your machine into something that can combat them, and C.C. has already agreed."

Ohgi stirred, "I agree with Zero." He held up a hand as Kallen gasped, "We need every bit of fighting strength we have, including and extending to Geass, but be careful, Kallen. Never forget about your country, and don't turn against it."

"I-I won't, sir."

"Well then, Kallen," C.C. smirked as she stepped forward, linking hands with the redheaded pilot, "Are you ready to take the plunge?"

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, The _Right on Time_, Same Time_

"I like that plan!" Declared Alterith.

"It's a good plan." Jeremiah nodded in agreement.

"Let's frame it and put it up on the wall." Odyssues added.

"If I could hear myself think, I would say something." Lelouch muttered, "Honestly, I may as well have picked Milly to be my contractor, Sayoko for my Knight, and Odysseus… for Odysseus…" He now stood, pointing in the direction of the control room, located just ahead of the briefing room, "We need to figure out our next objective, out of this list."

"Perfect," Alterith said, "I can check up with the Secret Intelligence Division." He walked into the room, filled with people stationed at control monitors, "How goes it, peoples?"

"Sir, Communications reports that they're picking up a lot of chatter around Cambodia." One technician spoke up.

"Stay with the source." Alterith ordered.

_'I see. It was a wise decision for me to place Alterith at the head of the SIS Division.'_ Lelouch thought, _'It's just not Jeremiah's field of expertise, and Odysseus wouldn't' be able to handle the workload.'_

"Sir, Global IFF Encryption Network standing by."

"How many units do we have?"

"Twelve squadrons," The technician replied, "strategically placed around the world."

"Hold positions, anyone else?"

"Sir," Another woman reported, "fanservice dissemination at maximum output."

"Fanservice?" Jeremiah asked, cocking his eyebrow, "I haven't heard of that one before."

"It's a new network of intelligence that I created to keep track of our standing with our fans." Alterith explained, "Your email will be full of messages from your fangirls."

"I have fangirls?" Jeremiah was stunned, "Since when?"

"Well," Alterith began, looking serious, "it may have begun when I leaked those shirtless photos of you onto the internet…"

"You did _what_?" Jeremiah cried, the last word a high-pitched shriek.

"I only gave the fangirls a taste." Alterith replied, smiling coyly, "Just wait until they see _my_ pictures…"

"To sum it up," Lelouch said, diverting attention from his contractor, "get your bags packed, we mobilize in twelve hours."

0000000000

_Ashford Academy Student Council Clubhouse, Tokyo, Japan, 9:22 AM, Three Days Later_

Gilbert G. P. Guilford fingered his collar nervously as he entered the reception hall, his face a mask of passive observance. However, inside, he was shuddering with pent-up apprehension. He and Cornelia had only been married that past spring, so he should have been used to the idea of one, but to turn this celebration into some kind of festival seemed… crass. However, he was not getting married today, and therefore had no say in the décor. He did, however, have a deep-running fear of the bride, whom he had heard stories of by those who had attended school with her. These included several forced cross-dressings, cat suits, and an unmentionable incident that left three people hospitalized for minor injuries inflicted by a wheelchair ramp.

Though he had never met her in person, Cornelia knew enough of the Empress' friend from her sister and the pilot of the _Guren_ that Milly Ashford was not a person to be taken lightly. Her manner and speech were deceptively playful, but deep within lurked a being of such terrifying power that the mere mention of it sent mice, spiders, and children ages four to twelve scurrying for shelter.

That is not to say that Milly Ashford was evil, just terrifying.

"Gilbert…" he jumped, letting loose a high-pitched shriek, heart ceasing to beat until he realized that it was his wife, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Cornelia." He replied tentatively, "Nothing's wrong."

She leaned forward, scrutinizing his face, then, dropping her voice to a sliver of a whisper, "Are you as frightened about meeting Milly Ashford as I am?"

He relaxed slightly, heartened that he was not solitary in his seemingly irrational fear, "Yes, from the way she's been described. I can't believe the Empress was _smiling_ that whole time she told us those stories." He shuddered, "I've only ever known two people as terrifying as she's been described."

"As who's been described?"

The couple leaped metaphorically, while literally freezing in terror before their fear-racked brains separately identified the voice as that of Kallen Kouzuki, who was also in attendance at the wedding. She had been invited along with all of the former student council, extending the invitation to Gino Weinberg, the Empress' Knight of Justice, and Anya Alstreim, who was currently living in the house of Jeremiah Gottwald.

"N-n-nobody." Guilford stuttered, "Just… nobody."

Kallen eyed the two of them warily before deciding to ignore their odd behavior, "Do you know where Nunnally has gone?"

Cornelia pointed to a corner of the room, where Zero, leader of Japan's military, and Nunnally vi Britannia, the 100th Empress, were being swamped by their fans. Kallen thanked them briefly before heading off in that direction, plowing down a few dozen fanboys who hadn't had the sense to get out of the way.

"You were saying…" Cornelia prompted, "Who else do you know who could be as terrifying as this?"

"Nonette Enneagram."Guilford said bluntly.

Cornelia shuddered at the thought of the now-retired Knight of Nine. Nonette had chosen not to take a side in the conflict between the old Britannia and the new, instead choosing to retire to Australia, where Cornelia visited her infrequently.

"And the other?" She asked, reassuring herself that Nonette was thousands of miles away and couldn't possibly appear out of thin air to wreak more havoc on her life.

Guilford let out an uncharacteristic chuckle, "My step-brother."

"I see," Cornelia said, recalling that Guilford had attended West Point Academy, like any other military officer.

"We were in the same fraternity house too, Alpha Lambda Theta. He left to travel the world after he finished with West Point," Guilford continued, "His name is—"

Suddenly, he broke off as a chillingly familiar voice cried out an equally memorable nickname loudly, the signature high-pitched, drawling voice carrying over everybody's conversations with a single word.

"Oh, Gilly!"

**There do I conclude the sixth lap of this course. To all of my readers, I have a few messages.**

**First, I will include C.C. in Lelouch's plan. It's just going to take some time to work her in (no innuendos intended).**

**Second, I want to thank you all for voting at my poll. I was a little surprised at the results, which will be displayed right before Lelouch reveals himself.**

**And now, without further ado, Lelouch's closing monologue!**

_'Suzaku Kururugi—no, Zero—I will entrust you with my sister's safety, however, if she is ever harmed, I will hold you responsible. Though I cannot help but wonder, should I really put my trust in you, Alterith ver Degralis? No, first we need to find out what Schneizel is playing at. Only then can we move forward, and reveal Omega's true intentions to the world._

_**'Next Lap: The Crown of Frost**__._

_'Those who wish to play the game of thrones must be prepared to pay the price!'_


	7. Lap 7

**Many of you have been assaulting me with four different questions/statements which I shall answer here for everyone to see.**

**First, Lelouch isn't going to just up and forgive the Black Knights. Revenge doesn't work like that. It would be disappointing otherwise. Besides, he needs to take a few more levels in badass.**

**Second, C.C. is helping the Black Knights because she thinks Omega is threatening the peace that Lelouch died for (she doesn't know our little secret yet.)**

**Thirdly, Alterith spared Tohdoh because he's a sucker for unrequited love stories, like Chiba's. Basically, he's the kind of guy who writes crappy romance novels in his spare time and thinks everyone has a soul mate.**

**Fourth, Odyssues survived. He had the best chance of surviving of all, since he joined the army, and he could have been deployed before Pendragon was nuked. In this continuity, he was deployed out in South America to man the defenses, and so survived to see Lelouch resurrected.**

**And lastly…**

**I WANT SOME REVIEWS! I have over 3000 hits this week alone, but only 33 reviews. I want to see at least sixty by the time I post the next chapter, or I'll dangle it over your collective heads like a well-cooked steak! I've altered my preferences to allow anonymous reviews, so all you people who don't have accounts had better review!**

**P.S. Sorry it took so long, but writing the first part was HELL!**

**Lap 5: The Crown of Frost (Formerly Known as: The Adventures of Silly Ally and Gilly)**

_"Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate."_ ~Ambrose Bierce

_'The time is coming for retribution, and the man who is Kururugi Suzaku cries for the pain of his suffering to end. Is this what it means to be Zero? To live a life not meant for you? However, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, Zero must live forever. For the sands of time shall flow ever onward…'_

0000000000

_Ashford Academy Clubhouse, Tokyo, Japan, 9:26 AM_

Guilford stood stone-still, as a hare does when it is seen by a hawk in a vain attempt to deter the predator, "Cornelia," he muttered, staying as still as he could, "can you look behind me?"

The Witch of Britannia was confused as she looked over her husband's shoulder, "What am I looking for?"

"Something that vaguely resembles Satan." Guilford said, swallowing nervously.

"Unless Satan wears a giant hat made of balloons, he's not here."

Guilford peered over his shoulder to see the top of an oversized balloon hat moving through the crowd as the owner made their way towards him. A frigid rush of terror, not unlike the kind experienced by a drowning man, took hold of him as a cloyingly sweet voice called out to him again.

"Gilly!" Was all he heard before a dark blur collided with him, sending him sprawling onto the floor, "Surprise buttsecks!"

Guilford sighed from his new position on the floor, "Alterith, with you, it's never a surprise."

Cornelia stared in horror at the newcomer, even more so at Guilford's calmness in the face of this stranger, "Who the hell are you?"

Alterith looked up at her, grinning, "Now, now, Nellie, is that how you talk to your brother-in-law?"

Cornelia froze, the wheels in her mind processing the information, eventually managing to say the only thing that came to her mind: _'What the hell?'_

"Alterith, please get off me." Guilford groaned.

"Now, Gilly, is that how you address your brother?" Alterith chided, "You and I both know that it's '_Ally_'. Say it. Come on, you know you want to!"

"Brother?" Cornelia murmured still rather shocked at the man's rather childish behavior.

"Stepbrothers, Cornelia. My father married his mother after divorcing my own," Guilford groaned under Alterith's weight, "Alterith, please get off me."

"It's Ally!" The black-clad man insisted, "Say it."

"Fine… Ally." Guilford grumbled as an apparently satisfied Alterith let him up, "So, why are you here?"

"I'm the priest!" Alterith said feeling annoyed, striking his stepbrother across the back of the head with a hefty volume entitled, _'Every Religious Scripture Ever Written, Ever, by Alterith von Heisenberg, with Forward by Dan Green.'_

"Ally!" A high-pitched voice cried out, tearing the crowd asunder as a well-endowed blonde woman ran towards Alterith.

"Milly!" He said, embracing the bride, "You look lovely! Where's Rivalz?"

"He's not here, he had some business in the city. Ever since he started that casino, he's been busy. But still, I'm so glad you're here!" Milly crooned, "Where are your friends? You said you were bringing guests."

"Oh, so_ that's_ what I forgot!" Alterith exclaimed, "I knew that something was missing."

"Well, go get them!" Milly screamed as she shoved him out the door on his effeminate rear end, "Milly Ashford commands you!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Alterith said as he snapped to a salute, nearly toppling his balloon hat in the process and prompting even more stares from all the bystanders. Noticing this, he smiled embarrassedly, "Sorry, reflex."

With that, he dashed down the path, setting off toward the nearest sandwich bistro.

"What… _was_ that?" Cornelia asked, completely astounded by Alterith's stupendously irregular behavior.

"_That_, my dear," Guilford said, getting up from the floor and brushing himself off, "was Alterith von Heisenberg."

There was silence for a moment before a shriek split the air, "What?" Kallen Kouzuki screamed as she shoved her way through the crowd, "That little black rat is _here_? Where?"

"Now, now, Kallen, dear." Milly chastised the younger woman, "You may dislike him, but you will not get into a fight on my wedding day unless _I_ start it."

"But he's a terrorist!" Kallen exclaimed.

"So was Zero…" Milly smirked, "Not until Japan was freed was he then considered a hero."

"Th-tha-THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!" Kallen stuttered.

"Is it now?" A deep, modulated voice said from the doors.

A multitude of people whirled around to see Alterith leaning against the doorframe, holding one of the double-doors closed. He looked rather imposing, which was strange as he still had that ridiculous balloon hat on his head. "I am proud, honored, and every other sort of positive emotion, to present to you," He paused dramatically, "the Head of the Omega Conglomerate himself, His majesty, Omega."

Having finished his exposition, he swung the door open to admit the familiar wraithlike figure in a gold-colored two-piece suit, complete with tie; the opposite of any known image of a terrorist. Beside him stood Jeremiah Gottwald, a proud and ever-watchful lion in the midst of a pack of hyenas, the hyena's being all the Black Knights that were in attendance.

There were quite a few of them due to their connections to Kallen who hadn't wanted to be alone at the wedding(don't misunderstand, she was just scared). As a result of this, Tohdoh, Tamaki, Chiba, Ohgi, and Suguiyama had all been roped into the event. In fact, the majority of attendees were there by dubious consent, having been blackmailed into attendance by none other than the bride herself.

"Don't cease the festivities on my behalf." He offered, "If there's a problem, I can always—"

"Nonsense!" Milly squealed as she pulled the notorious terrorist into a playful headlock, "Any friend of Ally's is a friend of mine!"

"I… I'm touched." Lelouch finally managed sincerely, having almost forgotten about Milly's overbearing manner.

"Omega!" Kallen cried out, her hand reaching into her purse to reveal a hidden knife as a blond haired man rushed from the crowd and put his hand to the gun holstered at his hip.

"Stop right there!" Gino added as he drew his gun.

"Now, now." The modulated voice resonated calmly, "I'm here as a guest of the bride, which, by an obscure Japanese law that you forgot to repeal, grants me amnesty until I am safely out of the country. Besides, I'm not here to pick a fight; I'm here to attend the wedding too, just like you." The hawk-like man then tilted his head, "I don't quite like that gun you're pointing at me, Gino Weinberg."

The Empress' Knight hesitated before Milly slapped the weapon out of his hand, "This is a wedding, _my_ wedding in fact, and I will not have it interfered by _politics_!" She shouted as she practically spat the last word with vehemence.

"Of course not, Milly." Alterith drawled, "I have no intention of allowing a wedding to be interrupted." He turned swiftly, taking a heroic pose, "For a wedding is not just the simple union of two lovers, but a time for us to cast aside our vendettas and join hands!"

Taking advantage of the buzz that Alterith's relatively normal behavior was creating, Guilford began inching toward the door, but froze in surprised when the air was pierced by a high-pitched voice.

"Gilbert Gerard-Patrick Guilford, how dare you slink away from me!" His mother's voice shouted angrily.

The Britannian Knight whirled around, preparing a multitude of excuses to defend himself against the woman who gave birth to him, only to be greeted by a smiling Alterith. Sighing heavily, he shook his head, "You have to stop imitating my mother."

"How is Eleanor, by the way?" Alterith asked, tilting his head.

"Fine, she still keeps asking whether you ever got over your crippled-girl fetish." Guilford stated matter-of-factly, as if he were discussing the weather over a spot of tea.

"I did in fact. My new fetish is cars, and women who repair cars… And sometimes even men who repair cars." Alterith said, putting up a defiant look, daring anyone to challenge him.

Guilford sighed again, "Sometimes, I can't figure you out, Alterith."

"Well, then we're in the same boat, because I can't either."

"Now, where's Zero?" Lelouch asked, smirking under his mask, "I would like to meet my adversary in the flesh."

"You're a terrorist, why should we tell you?" Kallen retorted angrily.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, isn't that right, Zero?" Omega didn't even turn to look at the other masked figure behind him.

"I suppose it is." Zero answered, "But you have no justification for the crimes you've committed, therefore, you are a terrorist."

Lelouch turned, stalking toward his old friend, "I admit, my reasons for acting were murky at first, but now I know my true purpose." At the sight of Zero's tilted head, he elaborated, "Oh, yes, my purpose is to bring about the destruction of armed conflict, with force if necessary."

Zero stood still, then doubled over in laughter, "You want to eradicated war by force? Ha! That's as brilliant a plan as I have ever heard, crazier than some, and better than others."

Now Lelouch tilted his head, "Are you referring to the original plan of Lelouch vi Britannia?"

Several onlookers gasped, not understanding what was going on, but Suzaku answered in a chillingly calm voice, "Yes, Lelouch vi Britannia did indeed wish to bring about peace, but he was… misguided."

"Would others call the enslavement of the world 'misguided'?" Omega asked wryly, leaning back against Jeremiah's shoulder.

"He had the right intentions, but the wrong idea of how to bring it about." Zero said, lowering his head, "And it was my fault."

"Yes, it was." Suzaku snapped up as Alterith shifted, "However, lest my Lord forgives you, I cannot."

"That's right." Jeremiah said, his voice low, "His majesty's wishes are my wishes, his grudges are my grudges."

There was a long silence between them before Lelouch broke it, "I congratulate you on your sister's marriage, Empress Nunnally vi Britannia."

The gathered people, none of whom were having fun as they should have been, parted to allow the Empress of Britannia to power her wheelchair forward, followed by her personal advisor, Schneizel, and her caretaker, Sayoko, "I was surprised to see you here, Omega." She said, her voice deadly and quiet, "After all, you killed my brother Odysseus."

"Not dead," Alterith interjected, "recruited."

"Recruited? Preposterous! He'd never betray us."" Cornelia spat, suddenly remembering that this man had taken part in kidnapping her brother.

"Once he knew my true identity," Lelouch said, bringing his hand up to his mask, "that was no longer a problem."

"Then he knows you?" Nunnally gasped, the anticipation gnawing at her.

"I will say no more. However…" Lelouch looked at the man standing to the left of his sister, "Schneizel el Britannia, I hear you're a fair hand at chess. Care for a game?"

Schneizel smiled confidently, "I'd love to, but we have no board."

"I can fix that!" Milly interjected, breaking away from her intense interrogation of Guilford (most likely in an attempt to get blackmail on Alterith). She picked up a microphone, "I need thirty volunteers at the front of the clubhouse on the double!" She shouted cheerfully, her voice echoing across the grounds.

In minutes, there were four lines of volunteers, two of eight, and two of seven, standing outside the clubhouse in the checkerboard-patterned courtyard. A crowd of onlookers had gathered there as well. Lelouch and Schneizel both understood; Milly meant for them to play a game of human chess.

"What's the wager, Prince Schneizel?" Omega smirked.

"If I win, I want you to take off your mask." Schneizel stated simply, prompting mutters among the onlookers as to whether the notorious masked man would accept.

"Very well, but if I win, I want…" He paused for dramatic effect, "_her_!"

Nunnally was stunned as the wraithlike figure swept a long-fingered hand to point in her direction, but quickly realized that he was pointing for the person behind her.

He was pointing at Shinozaki Sayoko.

The Japanese woman tilted her head and smiled, "If it is agreeable to Prince Schneizel."

Schneizel nodded, confident in his ability to win, and moved to his spot on the chessboard, the position of the white king. Lelouch moved to his spot as well as the thirty volunteers moved to whatever squares were unoccupied on the board.

"I'll go first then." Schneizel proclaimed, "Knight to C3!"

Lelouch gazed dispassionately at the board, "Pawn to D5!"

"Pawn to E2." Schneizel ordered.

"Bishop to E6." Lelouch countered.

The game continued in this vein as Alterith looked on from the rooftop, which he had scaled out of boredom. He watched the game as it progressed, with each side making their share of sacrifices. He was about to make a snarky comment when his communicator rang. He fished the earpiece out of his coat's pocket and answered it.

"Alterith here." There was a brief burst of chatter, "Odysseus, what's wrong?" After another relay of information, he sighed in disappointment, "Damn, His Majesty will not be pleased." After another exchange, he shook his head, "It's not your fault; I suppose the deployment of the new model will be delayed… No? I see, then this will be dealt with quicker than I expected.

By this time, the game had imploded, with each side now having only two rooks and a handful of pawns. Strategies written at the game's start had been rewritten many times over to account for each sides' loss.

"Get ready to take off that mask, Omega!" Gino yelled from the sidelines, having been invited by his old friends, "This'll be over soon, right Anya?"

However, the pink-haired girl wasn't beside him where he'd last seen her. Instead, she was sitting behind Omega's lines, chatting with Jeremiah. She never did have to wear a suit, instead leaving most decisions to the "Orange Algorithm," a computer program that simulated Jeremiah's decisions, which had been a present for her nineteenth birthday from Alterith. It was only at this moment that Kallen, who was standing behind Schneizel's lines, registered something.

"Anya, when did Jeremiah leave?" She asked, leaning over a hedge behind the two.

"A few weeks ago," Said the interim CEO of Orange's Oranges, ignoring Jeremiah as he excused himself, "he said he'd most likely be involved in acts of terrorism."

Kallen slapped a hand against her face, "Then why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think it was important." She said, fiddling with her camera.

Kallen slouched forward, "Anya, it's not okay to keep things like that to yourself."

Anya looked up for the first time, "It's not okay?"

"No!" Kallen half-shrieked as Anya lowered her head.

"It's not okay…" The pink-haired girl droned in disappointment.

Whatever Kallen was about to say next was interrupted as Alterith came crashing down onto Gino's shoulders, "Majesty, there's trouble afoot! Odysseus reports that SR-004's Particle Engine is not functioning as your data forecasts predicts. He says there may be a failure in the SR Furnace unit. Whatever the case, you are needed there _immediatamente_!"

"I see," Lelouch said, nodding, "anything else?"

"One spot of doubleplusgood news," Alterith said, smiling, the strange bastardization of his words now familiar to Lelouch, "the _Tolkien_ has arrived."

Beneath his mask, Lelouch's eyes lit up, "That would be excellent news, if it were not dampened by 004's Particle Reactor error. Oh, and that reminds me, have you decided on a name?"

Alterith smiled confidently, "The _Nukenin_."

Lelouch nodded, "Very well." He turned to his opponent, "Prince Schneizel, would you be amenable to allowing Alterith to finish the game in my place?"

"So long as he is willing to adhere to our bargain if I win, then yes." Schneizel said self-assuredly.

"Alterith?"

The Time Lord nodded, "Though I dislike the terms, I will follow through with them as per the rules."

Lelouch nodded, "So be it. Well then, I'm off."

He ran across the school grounds faster than anyone had expected him to. Within moments, a military-grade helicopter lifted off of the roof of a nearby sandwich bistro and soared toward the horizon. Alterith watched in amusement, tapping his foot as the clatter of the rotors faded. Having seen his lord off, the _Peregrine_'s pilot turned back to his new opponent.

"Now that that's done, let's play!" He said cheerfully.

The game resumed with each player moving quickly, Schneizel aggressive, yet cautious while Alterith was holding his ground defensively, sacrificing pawns when necessary, taking his enemy's when the opportunity arose. Each side held their rooks in reserve, letting their pawns fight out the battle. When these were exhausted, white had one left standing. It was then that Alterith stepped forward.

"Oh?" Schneizel smirked, "Moving the king?"

"Even a god must step forth to create miracles, if only to sustain the belief of his worshippers." Alterith countered smoothly.

"An admirable statement." Schneizel said, nodding in respect. As he did so, he stepped forward as well, "I'll do the same."

Alterith advanced, paying no heed to his opponent's confidence, and was mimicked by Schneizel. The two continued toward the center of the board. There were whispers among the crowd as people debated on who would yield first. Money changed hands as bets were made; bartering was more common though, with "special" favors being promised more often than any sum. By the time the two came to stand one square from the borderline, separated by two spaces, all bets had been accounted for.

"You can advance no further." Alterith declared as he took the center square.

Schneizel merely smirked, "Never underestimate the power of the white king." And he stepped forward.

Alterith contemplated his opponent's move and remained silent for quite some time, "You are telling me to win the race while you offer me the reins of the chariot?" Schneizel said nothing in response to this. As the moments dragged on, the crowd seemed to shuffle inward, breath bated as to what the dark-haired man would do next. Then his face broke into a cheerful smile, "Okay, Checkmate!"

Schneizel barely had time to utter his next statement before he was plowed over by Alterith, "What?"

As the unfortunate Britannian prince lay prone on the ground, having been bowled over, the Lord of Time did a childish dance, "Victory is mine! Lashings of ginger beer for all!" At the many stares he got from this, he offered up an excuse, "I'm British, you know?"

Zero sighed, "That strategy worked only once, on Le—I mean me, and that was because of his—I mean, my pride. Schneizel let his guard down because he didn't take Alterith seriously."

"I can see why." Kallen said sardonically.

"Don't be foolish, Kouzuki." Tohdoh snapped from behind, "He may behave like a simpering fool in public, but he's cunning, and he's an excellent combatant as well."

"It sounds like you almost respect him." Tamaki said from the side, having been drinking several kegs of beer up until that moment.

"It would be ignorant of me not to acknowledge my enemy's strengths. However…" He trailed off, and neither Kallen nor Tamaki made any attempt to retrieve the rest of his statement, which he said to himself in his mind, _'Why did he not kill me when he had the chance? He had me at his mercy; what stopped him?'_

Alterith moved off to Jeremiah's position at the crowd's edge, "Ready to leave?"

"If I must." Jeremiah responded, shrugging, "I really don't know why you brought me here."

"I thought it would be fun." Alterith said flatly.

"Aren't you forgetting somebody?" Asked a feminine voice.

Alterith turned, "Wait, give me a moment… Oh! That's right, Sayoko!"

The Japanese woman stepped forward, smiling gently, "Jeremiah, you have your hands full with this one, don't you?"

"More than you can imagine." The cyborg grunted, "You do know we can't let you see our base until we have your answer, right?"

"Of course." Sayoko answered, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Alterith smiled in return, his right eye transmuting from blue to red, "Then sweet dreams, Shinozaki-san."

0000000000

_Undisclosed Location, Pacific Ocean, Australian _Thylacine-_Class Battlecruiser, the _Tolkien_, Observation Deck E Aft, 8:42 PM_

Lelouch smirked as he looked out over the _Tolkien_, "Magnificent, isn't it?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." Jeremiah said from behind him, "However, it is only a fraction of your true power."

"I am aware of that, Jeremiah, but it feels good to stand at the helm of a battleship once more." Lelouch said as he removed his mask, "This ship shall not fall as the _Avalon_ did."

"My king," Alterith said as he entered through the door at the back of the bridge, "Shinozaki Sayoko has awakened. She says that she wants to speak to you."

"You mean to Omega…" Lelouch countered, his demeanor becoming gloomier.

"No, to you," Alterith continued at Lelouch's surprised look, "she asked for you, by name."

They made their way to Sayoko's quarters, Lelouch donning his mask as they left the Observation Deck. Nobody stopped them along their way and they reached her room quickly enough.

Sayoko looked up as they entered, "Good evening, Master Lelouch."

With a chuckle, the Demon Emperor stripped away his façade, "I suppose there's no purpose in wearing this before you."

As the contractor spoke with his new recruit, Alterith leaned against the wall outside the room. He snuck a hand into the collar of his shirt, and from it, he withdrew a golden locket bound by a chain of a similar color, "Guess I should expect nothing less from blood relatives, eh?" He paused, "Of course this is the best plan. The question is: can you follow through with it?" He nodded a few moments later, "That's what I thought."

Inside, Lelouch had finished briefing Sayoko on their goals, as well as their next mission, "So, can you do it Sayoko? Will you stand by me once more?"

There was no hesitation in the woman's answer "Of course. I will do everything in my power to help you achieve your goals."

Lelouch smiled kindly, rubbing the back of his hand across his cheek, "Thank you, Sayoko." Then he looked behind him, "Alterith, do you have it ready?"

"Yes, my king. The Core Luminous is functioning to standard potential; there should be no more delays." Alterith said, tossing a starter key into the air, which was deftly caught by Sayoko, "And with the civil war in Sri Lanka, I'd say we have need to remind the world of what we're capable of, my king."

"I suppose we do." Lelouch murmured, "I'll start drawing up plans."

"Excellent," Alterith said, smiling, before turning away, "Well, I'm off for the wedding." And he walked off to the hangar.

"Excellent," Lelouch said, smirking evilly and ignoring his Knight, "let the world tremble in the face of a _true_ demon's power!"

0000000000

_Ashford Academy Clubhouse, After-Party for Milly Ashford and Rivalz Cardemonde's Wedding, 3:12 AM, Two Mornings Later_

Alterith yawned blearily as he stumbled out of the impromptu-casino that had been set up for the festival, having lost several rounds of a drinking game to Kallen and Milly, but compensating by succeeding at every turn in strip poker against Rivalz, Gino, and several fangirls. He staggered his way to the dining room, where he came upon Guilford and Tamaki sitting at a table, singing a slow, sad Scottish drinking song about a man, a dead puppy, and a gay clown.

Chiba was snoozing with her face pressed against the table's leg, while Tohdoh was passed out on the floor with several rude-looking Japanese characters scribbled across his face in permanent marker. Cornelia was sitting to the side, relatively sober as Alterith swept across the floor, occasionally tripping over things such as lacy black underwear, a fake beard, penguins, a toilet lid, a miraculously unscathed piñata, and a sputtering candle encased in a human skull.

"How goezit, Gilly?" The Time Lord slurred as he half-sat, half-fell into the seat beside Cornelia, prompting her to scoot to the next chair over.

"Good, Ally." Guilford said, swaying to the songs rhythm, which Tamaki carried in a very out-of-tune voice, "You?"

"Never better." Alterith stated, nearly falling over, "Hey, Nelly," Cornelia flinched at the nickname bestowed on her by the Knight of Nine, "did Gilly ever tell you 'bout the time I locked 'im and—what was her name? Oh, right Jessica—in a closet together, then turned up the heater until they had to strip?"

Before Cornelia could respond, a high-pitched buzzing resonated througho the air. Alterith rolled his eyes, then fished a vibrating earpiece out of his pocket, "Odie? Whazzup?" He paused briefly, "Do I have to? But I don't wanna!" After another moment, he pouted, "Fine."

As he was about hang up, Cornelia interrupted him, seizing the day as her mother had taught her, "Wait!" He paused, "Can I please speak to my brother?"

The Time Lord eyed her curiously, then nodded slowly, "Fine, but make it quick."

She caught the thrown earpiece deftly, hooking it behind her ear, "Odysseus?"

"Cornelia!" her brother's kind voice interjected, "How good to hear from you."

"Odysseus, why?"

"Why what?" He asked confusedly.

"Why would you side against us? Against your siblings?" Conrelia asked, silently pleading that he was a double-agent.

His answer was swift and concise, "Because of Lelouch." Before she could speak, he elaborated, "Oh, yes, I knew of his plans, but he swore me to secrecy, and I couldn't do anything… I was just so… useless…" He paused gathering himself, and his thoughts, "I guess I'm seeking some kind of redemption."

"But couldn't you achieve that with us?" Cornelia asked empathically.

"No, little sister, this is something I need to do myself, alone. You understand, don't you?"

This gave Cornelia pause: she _did_ understand. It was the same with her during the time after Euphie died; she had to take action to keep from falling into despair. Before she could do anything else, she remembered that Odysseus was awaiting her response.

"Yeah," She murmured, "do what you have to do, Odysseus."

"Thank you, Cornelia," He said, sounding relieved, "your blessing means more than you know."

With that she handed the earpiece back to Alterith, but before returning it, she gripped his hand like a vice, "Take care of him."

Alterith smirked drunkenly, "I wouldn't do anything less, Nelly."

With that, he swung himself up into his very conspicuous Knightmare Frame and flew it back to the _Tolkien_ without even swaying once.

0000000000

_UFN Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan, Four Days Later_

Sumeragi Kaguya sat at the head of the UFN's Conflict Resolution Council's table, sighing as the members of the committee fell into chaotic argument once again. Their job was to alleviate armed combat in a council hearing, but they weren't very successful. How could they convince two opposing sides to compromise when they couldn't even agree with each other?

She was about to raise her voice to cease the furor caused by her fellow council members when the large computer monitor, usually used for presentations, began flickering, sweeping away the UFN emblem in a wash of static. When it cleared, the council gasped. A wraith-like figure dominated the screen, a black mantle trimmed with gold adorning his slender frame, his visage concealed beneath a ghostly mask.

"I am Omega!" He declared, "Hear me UFN! The civil war in Sri Lanka has dragged out long enough, it is time to end it. You have until midnight to end the conflict. If by 0015 Local Time the fighting has not ceased, we will intervene and bring peace by our own methods!"

Kaguya trembled as she realized the gravity of Omega's words. He intended to force the world to peace by threat of violence, and, failing that, to raze it to the ground. But an enforced peace was not peace at all, and eventually... No! She had already lost two people to the senseless war for peace; she would not let another person suffer that same despair.

"Alert General Tohdoh and Commander Xingke," She ordered an aide, "and get Prime Minister Ohgi on the line!"

0000000000

_Sri Lanka, Western Coast, 11:57 PM Local Time, Same Day_

Tamaki Shinichiro scoffed as he leaned back in the cockpit of his _Akatsuki_, "Honestly, I don't see why Tohdoh mobilized us for this. That coward probably won't even show up."

As if on cue, the radio crackled blearily, "Fourth Squadron, deploy!" Tohdoh's sturdy voice ordered, "We have reports of radar and communications failure around the southern coast. It may be Omega."

"Roger that." Tamaki acknowledged half-heartedly, "Fourth Squadron, moving out."

He led his squad out, piloting around the curve of the island's coast. As they flew out over a stretch of sandy shores where they had stationed a battalion to act as lookout, several of them cried out in distress at the sight below them. The beach was littered with the shrapnel of a hundred Knightmares, splintered beyond recognition. A single frame remained relatively whole, lying on its side on a bed of blood-run sand, severed in half from shoulder to hip. The pilot lay prone on the ground, a short distance from the cockpit pod, torn apart by the violence of its demise. A piece of shrapnel protruded from his heaving chest as he took ragged gasps of air.

"Natsuya!" Tamaki called the name of Second Squadron's leader, leaping from his crouched _Akatsuki_'s cockpit and pulling the man into a sitting position, "What the hell happened?"

"A demon…" Natsuya coughed, blood spattering Tamaki's shirt, "A bloody red demon…" And with those words, his head fell back and he passed from the world of the living.

"Natsuya…" Tamaki murmured, tears pooling in his eyes. He reached up and wiped them away with the back of his hand, leaving smears of his comrade's blood across his face, "DAMN YOU, OMEGA!"

"Colonel Tamaki! A Knightmare just appeared on the radar!" One of his subordinates cried, "It's headed for the place where the Tamils and Sinhalese are fighting!"

"Damn it!" Tamaki yelled as he remounted his Frame, resolving to return for his friend's body, "What are you up to, Omega?"

0000000000

_Sri Lanka, South-Central Region_

"What the hell is that thing?" One Tamil soldier exclaimed, forcing an outdated _Burai_ to slog its way through the dust, firing at the black demonic wraith behind them.

"It's a demon!" Another shouted over the radio, firing a near obsolete rocket launcher at said wraith.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Alterith cackled maniacally over the radio, "This is what happens you stand against those who would eliminate war! All those who oppose me will fall!" The _Peregrine_ swooped out of the air, slashing one, then another _Burai_ with a flick of its wings, "Ha! This is good sport. If only I had one of the Particle Reactor Cores," He sighed, smirking viciously, "Oh, well, I'll let Sayoko have her fun."

"Stay focused, Alterith," Lelouch chastised, a stylized video window opening on a side screen, "How's the new right arm unit functioning?"

Alterith checked the status display, "98.7 percent synchronization, power output holding steady as per your forecast."

Before this, the _Peregrine_ had been a lopsided monster, its scrawny right arm contrasting with the brutal power of the Resonance Wave Projector. Now it was balanced, with a new arm and new weapons. As he considered this, a loud beep alerted Alterith to new enemies.

"My king, a battalion of enemy units is approaching, and the _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ are among them. Requesting orders," He said.

"Keep them at bay until Jeremiah arrives. Sayoko is on her way there. Until then, do not engage in offensive maneuvers unless your opponents do." Lelouch replied.

"Understood," Alterith saluted, "SR 001 _Peregrine_, ready to destroy!"

The UFN's battalion of _Akatsuki_'s soared toward the battle site, Tohdoh and Kallen leading the charge.

"All units, be on alert!" Tohdoh barked over the airwaves, "The enemy has deployed their ace, a machine known only as the _Peregrine_. Be aware that the pilot is extremely skilled, and it seems to have been modified since its last appearance."

"_Got that right!_"

Tohdoh's eyes narrowed as he heard that voice, "All units, shoot that machine down!"

The battalion opened fire, machine guns riddling the air with bullets, but the _Peregrine_ was already gone, soaring a thousand feet above them.

"No weapons lest fired upon, right Majesty?" Alterith snarled sardonically, "Then take this!" The _Peregrine_ pointed at the center of the formation, the four heavy barrels mounted on its arm glowing red as it readied an attack, "Fire!"

A barrage of red bolts fell from the sky, tearing through the _Akatsuki_ formation. The _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ were spared by virtue of their shields, more powerful than the unlucky fellows who had taken the brunt of the attack.

"Damn," Kallen growled, "there goes our support."

"Get out of there, Kouzuki!" Rakshata cried over the radio from the _Ikaruga_, "That machine is too fast for even the both of you to beat!"

"We have to try at least," Tohdoh answered.

The Indian woman sighed heavily, "I can see that reason won't move you, so I'm sending in some help. Master Zero and that Gino person are on their way."

"Too bad they'll never get here!" Alterith roared as he aimed the Wave Pulse Cannon.

0000000000

_Five Miles Away_

Gino sailed through the open hangar doors into the night air, setting a course for the battlefield with an entourage of five _Gareth_'s and eight _Vincent_'s. He piloted his new and updated _Tristan Divider_ through the skies, smiling as he looked over the new equipment list.

_'Professor Asplund and Miss Cecile really are amazing,'_ He pondered.

His reverie was broken as one of the Vincent's behind him vanished from his readout, an elongated beep accompanying the word "LOST." He whirled around, but saw nothing except for one less Vincent. It was as if it had dropped into nothingness.

"Sir, where'd Larry go?" One of the soldiers asked, panicking, "I don't see anything."

_"That's because you expect to see nothing, and thus, see nothing,"_ A new voice said, _"Such is the art of ninjutsu."_

Before Gino could so much as blink, another two _Gareth_'s were gone, smashed together by an invisible foe as they fell into the ocean, their pilots ejecting safely. The others weren't so fortunate. As they turned to look, six bolts of red energy spiraled down to meet them. As one, the swarm of red attacked, slashing and burning each frame as they cut past, tearing their formation to pieces.

"What the hell are these?" One soldier cried out, "They aren't missiles!"

His observation was correct as the red projectiles abruptly ceased their assault, soaring up to rejoin a distant red point in the sky. Gino focused the _Tristan's_ systems on it, enlarging the image. It was a machine, similar to a fighter jet, with an elongated red prow and a streak of red trailing behind it, two red projections pointing forward from the fuselage. The rest of Gino's unit looked up as well.

"What a weird looking fighter jet…" George, one of the pilots, said aloud.

As if taking notice of the pilots statement, the machine swerved sharply, blazing a path straight for them.

"Take evasive action!" Gino barked out, the _Tristan_ veering to the left.

The formation broken, the pilots scattering, all except for one unlucky _Vincent_. The red prow split in half, like a huge claw, as the machine rammed the _Vincent_. As the unfortunate pilot tried to escape his predicament, the claw burned a radiant crimson, closing with inexorable crushing force as it ripped the frame in half, the operator ejecting just as his Frame exploded.

"Be careful, men!" Gino said, rushing to engage the new enemy, "It looks like that jet has some—" His statement was cut short as the machine unfurled, changing its form.

It was humanoid now as it snapped out with two swords similar to the _Peregrine_'s scythe, catching two _Vincent_'s on either side. The blades vibrated with an explosive shockwave, destroying the Frames as their pilots fled. The red claw now divided fully, each prong jutting from the Knightmare's back as a pair of four-feathered Energy Wings blazed into existence, burning like a scorching ruby.

"A Knightmare?" Gino cried out, the _Tristan_ transforming as well, "Another of Omega's tricks?"

_"Indeed,"_ Replied an all too familiar voice.

"Sayoko?" Gino asked with a sharp intake of breath.

In her Knightmare, Sayoko smiled kindly, "Yes, this is the _Nukenin_, the machine that will end all wars!"

**I have a few messages for my readers, and a pop quiz. First, I'm sorry it took so long, but I fell ill, and it was hard to write the first part of the chapter.**

**Second, C.C. will rejoin Lelouch, just be patient.**

**And now for the quiz:**

**First, who can guess where I got the name **_**Nukenin**_**, and what does it mean?**

**Second, in what story does the skull-lantern (the "sputtering candle encased in a human skull") appear?**

**Lastly, in what classic story is the word "doubleplusgood" found?**

**Now for the closing monologue.**

**UPDATE: Changed some dialogue, as well as making it more accurate concerning the storyline.**

_'The balance of power has shifted in my favor. Can such seemingly innocuous interactions really have such grand consequences? No, there's no time to dwell on that! The plan has moved to the next phase, and for the Black Knights to progress, they must be absolved of their sins._

_**'Next Lap: Byzantium**__._

_'Baptism in their own blood is the only redemption for those who have betrayed their lord!'_


	8. Lap 8

**As many of you guessed, **_**nukenin**_** means a ninja who has abandoned their clan, but I actually got the name for the Japanese name for Shedinja (the spin-off evolution of Nincada, the one with only 1 HP?), and most of you said Naruto (which tells me that I need to pander to your kind more often). 'Doubleplusgood' is a reference to George Orwell's **_**1984**_**, and the skull-lantern is from Shakespeare's **_**Hamlet**_**.**

**Yes, C.C. will rejoin Lelouch for all you fans. Yes, Kallen will have some time too for all **_**her**_** fans. No, I won't apologize for being five months late. It'll probably take just as long for the next one, so don't hold your breath.**

**Also, there's nothing wrong with your internet: I just didn't put any author's notes at the end.**

**Lap 8: Byzantium (Formerly Known as: The New Crazy)**

_"If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the 'up' button."_ ~Sam Levenson

_'The year was 2020 of the Britannian Imperial Calendar, humanity's supply of Sakuradite, the high-energy superconductor, was nearly depleted. The United Federation of Nations had begun construction on a daring project: three orbital satellites capable of absorbing the energy of the sun's light and transferring it to the ground via highly-resistant elevation terminals. Because of the necessary resources for building these colossal structures, each of the three nations of the Security Council has begun building its military in anticipation of an economic war. Because of the mounting tensions, wars have broken out over the smallest of incursions, and conflict is on the rise. But now, a small group has risen to rebel against those who use war for their own gain…'_

0000000000

_Sri Lanka, Southern Coast, _

The _Tristan Divider_ and the _Nukenin_ hovered in a circle over the Indian Ocean, Gino scowling as he observed his opponent, observing the Frame from its slender black legs to its head piece, a dark red scarf that concealed the Knightmare's face, a pair of ruby eyes glaring out from between its folds.

"Why would you join their side, Sayoko?" He asked, the _Tristan_ lunging forward, "You served Nunnally!"

"I served another before her," Sayoko replied curtly, the _Nukenin_ dodging and counterattacking.

"Do you mean Lelouch?" he asked, his voice laden with anger, "What's Omega's real goal? What are you planning?"

"That is of no concern to you," She said, "My orders are to keep you occupied."

"I don't have time for this," He growled, "Get out of my way!"

The _Tristan_ transformed, firing one of its slash harkens at her. The _Nukenin_ dodged gracefully, firing the six blazing red missiles from the small of its back again. The projectiles flew swiftly across the battlefield, discharging bolts of red energy at the _Tristan_. The blue Frame blocked with its new Blaze Luminous shield, but a single blast struck an unlucky _Gareth_ that was trying to rejoin its leader, destroying the Knightmare instantly.

"What kind of weapons are these?" Gino cried.

"These are my Kunai," Sayoko declared as the weapons returned to their sheaths, "A weapon used only by ninjas, and trademark of the Shinozaki School of Ninjutsu."

She transformed her Knightmare, opening the claw-prow once more as she charged the _Tristan_, but was diverted into a _Vincent_ by Gino's swift dodge. The unfortunate Britannian Frame was ripped apart from hip to shoulder as the _Nukenin_ shifted back to its humanoid form, its scarf fluttering in the high-altitude breeze.

"Aren't you supposed to throw those, though?" Gino asked, confused.

"Gah!" Sayoko let out a sound of exasperation, "I hate it when people say that! _Kunai_ were never built to be thrown, they were made for close-range combat!"

The _Nukenin_ raised its arms, firing a Hadron blast from its wrist. The _Tristan_ moved to take the offensive, whipping its slash harkens together to fire and energy blast from their combined form. Sayoko dodged, the _Nukenin_ shifting to its Fortress form and firing a pair of slash harkens from its midsection, both of which glanced off the blue Frame's shields before retracting.

Sayoko growled, "This battle is too even."

_"Shinozaki Sayoko!"_ A voice barked over the radio.

"Alterith?" She asked, confused, "Don't you have your own battle to fight?"

_"Maybe so, but it's you who I'm worried about,"_ The Time lord replied, _"I didn't kick Prince Schneizel's ass just for kicks—actually, that's a lie, I did it specifically for that reason, but you get my point. There's a reason His Majesty entrusted you with the first Bound-State Particle Engine! Use it!"_

Sayoko drew a short breath, then closed her eyes resolvedly, "Understood, Commander."

The smirk was audible in Alterith's voice, "Now that's what I like to hear."

The _Nukenin_ backed off, reverting to its anthropomorphous form. Sayoko looked at the Frame's display, bold letters presenting the machine's model number and name, "SR-004 _Nukenin_." She let out a deep breath of anticipation.

"Now let's get serious."

0000000000

_Elsewhere on the Battlefield_

Alterith smirked a he observed the _Nukenin_'s combat data, "It seems the Mobile Pistol-Knives are more devastating than I anticipated."

_"Alterith, focus,"_ Lelouch ordered, _"I'm counting on you to keep the _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ occupied until we arrive."_

Alterith smirked, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

The _Peregrine_ raised its right arm, firing a barrage of Hadron blasts. The _Guren_ and _Zangetsu_ backpedaled in flight, forced to dodge the falling hail of energy.

"Kouzuki, pincer attack!" Tohdoh ordered.

"Right!"

The two Frames split their formation, Kallen rising as Tohdoh dove, then swerving to attack from either side. Momentarily, Alterith glanced to either side and smirked. Half-turning, he faced Tohdoh, left wing curled back to block the _Guren_'s stab. He lashed out with the _Peregrine_'s golden claw-arm, forcing Tohdoh back. Flicking the _Guren_ away contemptuously, the _Peregrine_ darted forward, knee bent double and a disc-shaped device mounted on the leg's block slid forward as it released a burst of energy, tearing off the _Zangetsu_'s left leg. Smirking as his Knightmare's Needle Blazer retracted, Alterith whirled to face his other opponent.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed. Few people can battle toe-to-toe with an Undying One and come out even," He said to her, "Nevertheless, you have a ways to go before you reach _his_ level."

Despite her anger in her situation, Kallen quirked an eyebrow and spoke, "Whose level?"

"That is a lesson for a later date," Alterith said, "And if my sense of time is right…" The _Peregrine_ disappeared as a volley of VARIS shots cut through its previous position, hovering a hundred meters above the _Lancelot Albion_.

"So, you've come, Zero," Alterith taunted Suzaku, "Unfortunately for me, you are a necessary component of the _Venezia Redemption_. Therefore, you must also fight to live."

The _Lancelot_ shot forward, a swarm of _Akatsuki_ hovering in the background, firing a barrage of shells at the black Knightmare Frame. Spinning out of the way of the many shots aimed at him, Alterith growled savagely.

"Enough of that attack!"

He raised the _Peregrine_'s left arm, the appendage forming a cannon as it fired a blast directly at its opponents' armada. The resulting blast shook the _Albion_ and _Guren_ to their cores, and decimated the UFN formation in a field of densely-packed explosions, each flare of a lost Knightmare signifying the loss of another unit. Kallen yelled angrily as she lashed out at the Black Frame with her own, the deep purple fork-knife slashing at him as he parried with his scythe. Grinning viciously, she gripped the weapon's staff part with the Radiant Wave Surger, Alterith letting go as he knew the weapon was lost. She fired off a blast of radiation, the scythe exploding in her Knightmare's fingers.

As she smirked at her opponent, she felt a sudden wave of nausea take over her, feeling the urge to hurl. She bit on her tongue to quell the sensation. Seeing the _Guren_ falter, mid-air, Alterith frowned as he slapped the _Albion_ aside, sending it careening toward the ocean.

_'Something's wrong…'_ He realized, dodging the red Frame's renewed assault.

A warning klaxon blared in the lower left part of his vision, "My particle compressor's at 45 percent," He growled, "I've used up too much power. I can only hope support arrives quickly."

He snarled as the _Guren_ fired a beam of radiation, swerving as he corkscrewed around the blast. Kallen saw his impending maneuver and threw up a barrier of the selfsame energy, the _Peregrine_'s spearhead slash-harkens deflecting off it. Firing a barrage of energy bolts, the two frames distanced themselves as the pilots stared each other down.

"We're too evenly matched," Kallen murmured, "Too bad I have a trump card!"

"Hmm?" Alterith frowned as a video of Kallen in her cockpit flickers open, "Something to say?"

"Yeah: You're done for!" She cried as her left eye flashed red.

"Damn!" Alterith explained as he tried to escape, but the attempt was futile as a field of red spread from the red frame, engulfing the _Peregrine_, "Whallalaug…" He froze at the gibberish spilling from his mouth, right eye closed, _'Incoherence? Check.'_ He tried moving the frame forward, only for his left leg to lash out, banging awkwardly against the metal casing of the controls, _'Unintended mechanical impulses? Check._' He made an attempt at a grimace, the convoluted muscle movements paining him, _'Oh, dicks! She's jumbled up my body's neural network!'_

The _Guren_ darted forward, kicking the _Peregrine_ back as Kallen charged with a war cry, "This is for all the crap I've had to put up with!"

With great caution, Alterith managed to force out a mishmash of words, "Ess Arr… Zero… Zero One. Emerg… genss… gency Shuh… toff." With more confidence he repeated the command, "SR-001. Emergency Shutoff!"

At the sound of his voice, the black Knightmare ceased moving, its wings deactivating as it plummeted toward the sea below. Above Kallen frowned in confusion.

_'What's he trying to pull?'_

As the _Peregrine_ continued falling, Alterith opened his right eye carefully, seeing the red outline of the effects of Kallen's Geass reflected in his own visage, shown to him by the dutifully blinking emergency klaxon. He considered his options for a brief second before making his decision.

_'I need a moment alone with His Majesty.'_ He thought as his eyes closed.

0000000000

_Elsewhere_

Lelouch opened his eyes to see a world of white mist, "Why did you bring us here?"

"It was necessary to escape my predicament," Alterith replied, "But there's something you should know."

"And that is?"

"Kouzuki Kallen has obtained a Geass."

Lelouch's eyes widened, before he clenched his jaws, snarling, "C.C.!"

"Most likely," Alterith answered, leaning against a glassy wall, "What are your orders?"

Lelouch put a hand to his head, frustrated, "I have a contingency plan for this, but it's too soon to implement it. You'll have to do with the resources you have on hand."

"My particle supply is at forty-five percent," Alterith supplied.

"Our ETA is four-point-three minutes, hold them till then."

Alterith smirked, "Roger that."

0000000000

_Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean, Australian _Thylacine-_Class Battlecruiser, the _Tolkien_, Hanger Bay_

"SR-003, _Deutschland Siegfried_, launch preparations complete," Jeremiah declared, sitting on the _Siegfried_'s hull, as he finished the pre-launch check, "_Siegfried_ stabilized with launch rail, ready for launch."

"Roger that, 003," Odysseus replied, "Will notify you when you are cleared for launch"

"Understood," Jeremiah closed off the communication, leaning back against one of the machine's harkens. He closed his eyes, considering falling asleep, when it happened.

He felt a jarring sensation, like he'd been struck across the back of the head with something heavy. He felt he was falling into an abyss, bottomless as the depths of Hell. He felt a crack as he hit a hard surface, grunting as he did. He took a few deep breaths, feeling like there was a great weight on his chest. He opened his eye, but frowned. The world seemed blurry to him, like it was seen through steamed glass. He felt at his chest through some impulse he did not understand, bringing a monocle up to his right eye. He saw a child, kneeling next to him, leaning on his chest, with features both Britannian and Japanese. He smiled, though he did not know why, and spoke, though he couldn't hear what he said. He felt as though he was in a Knightmare frame, but somebody else was piloting. He turned, still smiling as someone called to him, their voice distorted, as though spoken underwater. He saw an elderly woman next to him, the both of them lying on a bed, and at this his eyes (metaphorically) widened. It was Sayoko.

As soon as he had fallen into the vision, he fell out of it, cracking his head against the _Siegfried_'s harken as he startled, "_Siegfried_, fifteen minutes to launch."

Jeremiah blinked. Fifteen minutes? He'd lost five minutes! But how was that possible?

0000000000

_Elsewhere_

Alterith's eyes widened as Lelouch drew a sharp breath, both of them feeling as though they'd been hit by a bolt of lightning to the side of the head.

"Did you feel that, Majesty?" Alterith asked quickly, turning and glancing upward, as though to see some sign from heaven.

"I did. What was it?" Lelouch asked guardedly.

Alterith closed his eyes, "I cannot be absolutely sure, but I have a theory."

_'Second Sight?'_ He thought, _'Is this your doing, baby brother?'_

"Well then, Majesty," Alterith chuckled, "We each have to finish our duties, so we'll have to discuss this later."

"Agreed."

0000000000

_Southern Sri Lanka_

Alterith opened his eyes sleepily, smirking as he saw his red-ringed eyes in the dark panels before him, "Your Geass is persistent, Kouzuki." He slurred, then blinked tiredly in surprise, "Whaaaaat? No garbled spee-eech, thingy?" His eyes lit up in drowsy understanding, "Oh, I get it. Sleepy people have less sensory input, so it has less of an effect on me in this state." He snapped out a mirror, his Geass glittering back at him, "Hell-lo, beautiful." And thus, with a hand-mirror duct-taped to his control panels, Alterith moved his hands to the controls, "_Peregrine!_ Alterith ver Degralis, ready to eliminate ta—" He yawned, "Targets!"

The black Frame's eyes flashed violet, wings snapping open and flaring to life. The _Guren_ flashed past, Kallen growling as she quickly pulled at the controls.

"I knew he'd try to pull something!" Kallen roared, maneuvering to avoid a Needle Blazer-driven assault by Alterith, "How's he still moving?"

"That's because this section of Code Geass is sponsored by BALLERINAS UNITED!" Alterith cackled, firing off a barrage of Hadron blasts.

The _Guren_ swiftly dodged the blasts, turning and preparing to fire at the black Frame when she noticed that he wasn't attacking her anymore. He'd begun blasting his way through a swarm of _Akatsuki_ that had been launched from the _Ikaruga_, now arrived at the battlefield. And Alterith was headed right for it.

"Shit!" She cried out, speeding after him.

As Alterith slashed the twenty-seventh _Akatsuki_ out of the way with his wings, he cackled madly, "Isn't there anyone on this battlefield who doesn't completely suck?"

_"Yeah, me."_

Alterith swerved out of the way of a burning yellow beam, whirling around to smirk at his opponent, "So, Heaven's Twice-Blessed Son has come to challenge me, eh?"

"That's right," Xingke declared, the _Shen Hu_ pointing its sword threateningly at the _Peregrine_, "And this time, I won't lose!"

"Then try to take me on," Alterith replied, the _Peregrine_ shooting upward, firing a hail of energy.

The _Shen Hu_ dodged, climbing higher, though more slowly than Alterith's unit, firing two of its slash harkens at it. _Peregrine_ dodged, letting the projectiles sail over him, bolts of electricity arcing past him, and then lashed out at him with his left arm.

"You, the Black Knights, the UFN! You all betrayed Lelouch!" Alterith roared, "I won't forgive you!"

The black frame kicked, smashing into the _Shen Hu's_ side, sending the blue Knighmare flying. Firing another shot from his Baryon Cannon, Xingke, drew his Frame's sword, slashing at the _Peregrine_. Blocking it with his Frame's wings, Alterith fired a slash harken from his Knightmare's shoulder, tearing into Xingke's.

"I'll stop you!" Xingke yelled back, the _Shen Hu_ swinging its double-edged blade.

"I won't let you!" Alterith countered, slapping the blue Knightmare's sword aside with his wings, slashing at him with the other, forcing Xingke to fall back, "What right have you question my motives? You, the ones who betrayed the greatest Emperor of all of Britannia!"

"He was a tyrant!" Xingke fired his slash harkens, one of them looping around _Peregrine's_ wrist, sending thousands of volts of electricity through the frame.

Alterith struggled against the voltage, grunting in pain, "I… am _not_ going let that lie live on any longer!"

The _Peregrine_ slashed, severing the harken mid-wire, and charged, a violet blur as it flashed past the _Shen Hu_, hacking at the Chinese Frame repeatedly. The blue Knightmare was dismembered, its arms and legs cut away in a furious storm of slashes, half of its Air Glide unit sliced off.

"We have to help Xingke!" Ohgi cried from the helm of the _Ikaruga_, "Fire the Hadron Cannons!"

"Think again!" Alterith cried, spinning to face the _Ikaruga_.

The _Peregrine_ lashed out, firing a harken each from its arm, shoulders and hips. The five projectiles swung towards the _Carrier_-Class Warship, boosters helping them to evade the Japanese ship's turrets. They all found their targets, two of them burying themselves in the _Ikaruga_'s port-side cannon, the other three in the starboard-side one.

The bridge rocked with the impact of the weapons, but the black frame spun in midair, crushing the starboard cannon with a burst from its Needle Blazer. Backing off, the _Peregrine_ held the Japanese warship at cannon-point, Alterith snarling at them.

"With this," Alterith declared, the Knightmare's cannon blazing with white light, "I'll rid the world of your treason!"

As the _Ikaruga_'s crew braced itself for the end, a blue light burst from port and rammed the _Peregrine_, carrying them off.

Ohgi turned quickly, looking out the starboard windows, "Who the hell is that?"

Alterith stared at the machine in shock. It was similar to a _Vincent_, with jutting shoulder pieces and a sculpted headpiece, but that was not what held Alterith's attention as iron adheres to a magnetic field: it was the cobalt radiance bleeding from its Float unit. Hip-mounted Hadron cannons and the pair of MVS swords it held before it spoke volumes of its pilot's skills, to have a customized machine, white and gold armor covering the main torso.

"A Vincent…" He breathed in shock, "Mounted with a Bound-State Particle Engine!"

Moving swiftly, as fast as the _Tristan_, it charged, slashing away. The _Peregrine_ dodged easily, ducking past slashes as it struck back hard, slapping the gold machine away.

"Those moves!" Alterith snarled, readying the _Peregrine_'s Hadron Blaster, "It's you!"

"That's right, big brother!" The other pilot roared, "It's been too long!"

Alterith bellowed angrily, "ARISSEOS!"

0000000000

_Sri Lanka, Indian Ocean, Australian _Thylacine-_Class Battlecruiser, the _Tolkien_, Hanger Bay_

"_Siegfried_ is cleared for launch!" Odysseus declared, "All personnel evacuate catapult deck!"

"Remember, Jeremiah," Lelouch cautioned, "Alterith's running out of particles, so you need to make yours count."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Jeremiah said calmly, bracing himself as a wall of water crashed over his machine, flooding the launch container, "_Deustchland Siegfried_, Jeremiah Gottwald, launching!"

The _Siegfried_ shot forward, hurled from the _Tolkien_'s linear launch rail like a bolt from a railgun, its six-feathered wings blazing to life as it shot upward, shattering the water's surface and bolting skyward.

_Forty-Seven…_

Sayoko smiled as the orange Knight Giga Fortress exploded into view, "There you are, Jeremiah!"

Gino turned as well, "Lord Jeremiah?"

Jeremiah grinned savagely, the _Siegfried_ spinning to block a Hadron blast from the _Tristan_. He spun again, spiraling downward toward the blue Frame. He fired a slash harken, forcing the Britannian Knightmare to dodge, then spun again, deflecting Gino's assault.

"The Electromagnetic Rotating Armor?" Gino drew a sharp breath, "That shield is near-unbreakable!" He pouted playfully, regaining his cheery demeanor, "Why didn't I get one?"

Jeremiah sighed, putting his hand to his head as he mentally directed the _Siegfried_ into another spin, counting the seconds as they passed, "You know, Weinberg, you really are a child."

_Thirty-Two…_

He fired a hail of energy bolts from his wings, angling to ram into the _Tristan_. The Imperial Knight blocked using his new arm-mounted Blaze Luminous shields.

"I've got you right where I want you!" Gino cried out, two machine guns sliding out of shoulder sheathes to aim at the _Deutschland Siegfried_.

"Wrong," Jeremiah stated, left eye opening, circuits glowing.

Bolts of electricity arced across the orange Frame's skin, surging the through the _Tristan Divider_, pinning Gino in his place.

_Twenty-Six…_

Alterith snarled at the _Vincent_. Though relieved that Jeremiah had sortied, his opponent drew the full force of his ire. Despite keeping time in his head, he dashed forward, slashing at the _Vincent_ with his wings. The gold Frame ducking and dodging his cuts.

"I have to admit, I never thought you of all beings would fight against a unified peace," his brother taunted.

"A peace based on lies, brother!" Alterith sneered, punching the Britannian machine in the stomach with a satisfied growl, "You of all beings know what that means to me! Why are you even here?"

The _Vincent_ backed off, firing two Hadron Blasters mounted on its hips as it drew a pair of swords, "I'm here to make sure you don't get your way."

Alterith's eyes narrowed, "You think that I'll let you stop me?"

"Not at all," the younger replied, "I expect you to fight to the last breath."

"And I will!"

_Fifteen…_

He lashed out with the _Peregrine_'s claw, sharp talons gouging the _Vincent_'s chest armor.

_Fourteen…_

The _Vincent_ countered, gouging the black Knightmare's left arm with its sword.

_Thirteen…_

Alterith gritted his teeth, slicing off the _Vincent_'s right arm with a flick of his wings, seizing its sword for its own.

_Twelve…_

The two Frames clashed, pushing against each other, but neither gaining the upper hand.

_Eleven…_

"I won't let you stop me, baby brother!"

_Ten…_

"If I don't, your redemption will never be fulfilled!"

_Nine…_

"A salvation I don't create for myself is worthless to me!"

_Eight…_

"I want my brother back!"

_Seven…_

Odysseus took a deep breath, hands on the controls. He kept one eye on the timer, while wishing his brother luck with a silent prayer.

_Six…_

Suzkau, having seen that the _Peregrine_ was occupied, rushed to attack the _Siegfried_, "Jeremiah Gottwald!"

_Five…_

The _Nukenin_ raised an arm, coming under assault by the _Zangetsu_'s machine guns.

"Not one step back!" Sayoko shouted to herself, firing.

_Four…_

Alterith broke the stalemate, slashing again at the _Vincent_.

_Three…_

Jeremiah spun, blocking the VARIS shot Suzaku fired at him as he in turn fired a salvo of Hadron blasts.

_Two…_

Odysseus flicked his thumbs, the rolling-ball control throttles responding to his touch easily.

_One…_

Lelouch smirked.

"Zero."

The _Tolkien_ burst from the seas, droplets of water scattering, the ocean frothing as the Australian battleship rose into the air.

"All units," Lelouch yelled, "Defend the _Tolkien_ as necessary, and focus on your assigned targets!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Came the unanimous reply.

As he spoke, the _Tolkien_'s launch rails crackled, bolts of electricity flowing down them as a fighter-shaped machine was catapulted from its forward launch bay.

"Impossible!" Kallen cried, seeing the silhouette.

"It can't be," Tohdoh murmured.

The _Zangetsu_ changed course, breaking away from the _Nukenin_ and heading for the new machine. Sayoko, beginning to pursue the Japanese Knightmare, halted as Lelouch called out to her.

"Ignore Tohdoh, get to Alterith!"

Sayoko nodded, "Right!"

Complying, she shifted to Fortress Mode, shooting off as Gino whined about losing his playmate, earning himself a slash harken from Jeremiah.

The _Zangetsu_ shot forward, firing its harken at the oncoming unit. The machine, armored in black and gold with a maroon posterior, accelerated upward, changing shape. Two legs straightened from the underside, a pair of arms extended from their confined restraint and a head flipped up as it flipped backwards, avoiding a salvo of bullets from Tohdoh.

The Japanese general scowled as he saw the Knightmare Frame, "I thought so."

Kallen breathed shakily as she stammered, horrified, "That's the _Shinkiro_!"

"That's right," Lelouch said, donning his mask, "Type 0/0A-RE, _Shinkiro Repair_."

A pair of three-feathered energy wings burst from the black Knightmare's fork-like back, burning like the sun.

Tohdoh pushed forward, "Even if it is the _Shinkiro_, it's still based off of two-year-old technology. You're no match for my _Zangetsu_!"

"Wait, Tohdoh!" Kallen shouted.

The Japanese Frame, slashed, its Seidoutou smashing against the _Shinkiro_'s Absolute Defense Field. The black-and-gold Knightmare merely turned its head, its four-eyed gaze looking indifferently back at Tohdoh.

"The same as ever, Tohdoh," Lelouch scoffed to himself.

The Absolute Defense Field glowed brightly, Tohdoh's eyes widening at the effect.

"It can't be; they said it wasn't possible!" He fell back, movement hindered by the lack of a left leg.

"Disappear," Lelouch ordered ominously.

The _Shinkiro_'s shields flashed, firing a volley of energy beams at the _Zangetsu_, ripping away a right arm, as well as crippling the same-sided shoulder.

Kallen finally snapped out of her daze, jumping into action, the _Guren_ charging forward, "What kind of engineer worked that out?"

"Kallen, I don't care that it's you," Lelouch narrowed his eyes, "No, it's _because_ it's you that I have to do this."

He raised the _Shinkiro_'s hand, firing two of its five slash harken-fingers. The _Guren_ deflected them easily, zigzagging toward the black Knightmare. Attempting to flank it, it shot right past before flipping over and firing its Radiant Wave Surger. The red beam deflected off the Absolute Defense Field, Lelouch barely batting an eye as he ran the calculations mentally.

Jeremiah smiled viciously, "I thought it would work: the Nerve Potential Control System that runs the _Siegfried_." He spun, ramming the _Tristan_ again, "V.V. could use it, and C.C. also had the ability to. I'm glad my conjecture was correct," He looked to the _Shinkiro_, "That it would work for His Majesty as well!"

Lelouch smirked, drawing a pair of swords that shifted from gray to blue, resonating with a keen, piercing sound. Kallen clamped one hand over her ear, piloting shakily with the other.

"Just die!" She screamed, activating her Geass.

Lelouch grimaced as he felt the wave of her power pass over him. He swept past the _Guren_, barely pausing as he slashed off the left arm, the Mechano-Magnetic Resonance Blade passing easily through its Radiant Wave Shield. Kallen was shocked. Not only had her Geass had no effect, but he'd cut the _Guren_'s shields like so much wax paper.

"Jeremiah," Lelouch said calmly, "Make a note to thank our field agent for developing these weapons."

Jeremiah chuckled, "Of course, Your Majesty."

The _Tristan_ pulled back as Jeremiah eliminated its slash harkens with a well-aimed blast from the Antimatter Cannon, "Looks like I'll have to start getting serious here," He laughed quietly, the Britannian Knightmare drawing its single Excalibur-type MVS, retrieved from the broken _Damocles_ after the final battle two years ago. Lloyd had been tinkering with it ever since.

Jeremiah gritted his teeth as Alterith's image flickered in the corner of his vision, "Jeremiah, that weapon will be useful later on; seize it!"

"I know that!" Jeremiah said, keeping out of range as Gino lunged forward, swinging the Excalibur in a wide arc. He knew well enough that even the _Siegfried_'s Electromagnetic Armor wouldn't hold up very long against that sword.

Gino darted away as Lelouch's knight opened fire with his Hadron Blasters, "Say, why do you even follow Omega? I mean, it's not like he tells you all his plans right?"

Jeremiah actually burst out laughing at this, "That's what makes him so successful," He said, dodging the _Tristan_'s cut and shooting off its left arm with the Antimatter Cannon, "Only he knows the entire plan. The rest of us know what we need to and trust each other to complete their own part."

Gino was partly taken aback, but recovering as a transmission from the _Absolute Zero_, stationed near the north of the island, was patched through, "Gino."

"Your Highness!" He started, hearing Cornelia's voice.

The violet-haired woman shook her head, "My husband has sortied, and is approaching the battlefield… Keep him safe for me."

Gino breathed sharply, then made a half-bow, "You have my word, Your Highness."

Across the battlefield, Alterith waged his own personal war against the _Vincent_ and his brother.

"I know you want me back brother," Alterith yelled, "but I refuse to let this false peace live on!"

There was a grunt of irritation from the other end, "You were always stubborn, big brother," The younger chuckled, "I guess we'll have to battle this out then!"

"We're already doing that!" The elder protested.

"Alterith!"

The Time Lord turned, espying the _Nukenin_ at the corner of his vision, "Sayoko, what are you doing here?"

"Orders," She said simply.

He smirked, chuckling as she shifted into KMF Mode, firing a line of Hadron blasts, forcing Aris to back off, "Sayoko, activate the Merge Form."

"Right."

The _Nukenin_ twisted around a shot from the _Vincent_'s Hadron Cannons, approaching the _Peregrine_ from behind. It spun, the head retreating into its protective casing as it half-shifted into Fortress Mode, the claw and anterior of the body together as the rear unhinged, securing itself to the _Peregrine_'s back, its prow-mounted claw secured to the black Knightmare's right arm.

"Finally, I can recharge," Alterith sighed, seeing his Knightmare's energy dial leaping, and still increasing, "Just remember, Sayoko, we'll be removing this feature once the _Peregrine_ has its own Engine."

"Roger that."

Alterith smiled viciously, "Let's go, then."

The _Peregrine_ bolted forth, zigzagging easily as the _Vincent_ kept firing, not slowing down even as they rammed him, a green shield flickering into existence as they did. Sayoko acted quickly, launching the Kunai to distract him as she opened the _Nukenin_'s claw, the points extending beyond the shield as she clamped down, the pincers glowed a blazing red, searing the machine's arms, even as the Kunai did their work, ripping away the _Vincent_'s left leg as it fired off its Hadron Cannons. The _Peregrine_ hurtled backward, dodging as Aris pushed forward.

"Sayoko, I need a shield!"

"Roger!"

The _Peregrine_ moved forward, a spherical shield surrounding it, the _Vincent_'s Hadron Blasts deflecting off the glowing crimson bubble.

"A Particle Resonance Shield," The younger brother said, "Clever."

He rose in flight, turning and driving downward with his elbow-mounted Needle Blazer. It struck the shield, rocking the _Peregrine_ and _Nukenin_ as it went off. Alterith briefly closed his right eye, Geass shut off now that he was out of Kallen's range.

"I need to get closer," He murmured, firing a barrage from his Hadron Blasters, "Sayoko, give me control."

"You have it."

"Right," He muttered, "Sorry, brother, but we have an appointment to keep!"

He lunged forward, the _Nukenin_'s claw open and ready to attack. The _Vincent_ fell back, but that was only a diversion. The rest of the plan came when the Kunai deployed from their sheathes, laying down a hail of energy as the _Peregrine_ closed on the Britannian Frame from the rear, severing its right arm with its sword, nearly forgotten in the melee.

Aris growled as he backed off, "I can't win here," He muttered, then raised his voice, "I'll be back for you, big brother!"

"I'll be waiting," Alterith murmured in reply, "Arisseos."

"Alterith," Sayoko warned, "We have a deadline."

"Yes, you're right," Alterith replied, looking down, hair covering his eyes. He blinked turning his face upward toward the horizon, "Very well then, _Peregrine+Nukenin_, now moving on to Phase 3."

The combination Knightmare let off a burst from its wings as it shot across the sky toward the still unresolved battle around the _Tolkien_. There, Jeremiah finally succeeded in separating the _Tristan_ from its blade, ramming it head-on. The _Shinkiro Repair_ bolted away from the _Guren_, Kallen firing off bursts of radiation that only deflected off the black Knightmare's shields.

Lelouch moved swiftly, looping around the _Tristan_'s Hadron blast and seizing the descending blade, having stowed its own swords in their sheathes. He raised it above his head, bringing the sword down in a descending arc toward the _Tristan Divider_. The blue Frame managed to evade, deflecting the blow with its shield, but the move cost it its leg as a Hadron blast tore it off.

As Gino fell back, Kallen took the opportunity to strike from behind, attempting to smash through the _Shinkiro_'s Absolute Defense Field. Rising swiftly to dodge, Lelouch fired a shot from his Knightmare's Structural Phase Transition Cannon, the high-energy beam slicing through the _Guren_'s shields and ripping off a leg.

"Too slow," Lelouch smirked.

"You bastard!" Kallen yelled.

"Kouzuki, fall back!"

Jeremiah turned as a new machine, a custom _Vincent_, appeared on his sensors, "There you are, Prince Consort Guilford!" He cried, smiling.

"Leave him to me!"

Jeremiah blinked in surprise as the _Peregrine_, now detached from the _Nukenin_, flashed across the sky, kicking the _Vincent_ away as the _Guren S.E.I.T.E.N._ flew away toward the damaged _Ikaruga_.

"Alterith!"

"It's been a while, little brother," Opening a viewscreen to speak with Guilford, Alterith smiled sadly, "I won't harm you, but I won't let you defeat Omega either."

Guilford sighed, "When our parents got married, you promised that you'd help me do whatever was necessary to ensure peace in this world."

Alterith drew a sharp breath, remembering a vow he made, memories of lopsided glasses and interlaced fingers flashing before him, "You still remember that…" A tear welled in the corner of his eye, "Don't worry, Gilly, I won't let anything happen to you or Cornelia."

"It's not just about us! It's about the world!"

"But it isn't; that's why you came…" Alterith trailed off, a gloomy note creeping into his voice, "You want us to be a family, like we used to be."

Guilford, too, was tearing up. He closed his eyes, not wanting to admit it, but Alterith's words, spoken gently, but with force, drew an answer from him as they always did, "Yes, I do."

"Then let me make a promise to you, Gilbert," Alterith murmured his stepbrother's given name quietly as he raised his hands, slender fingers splayed out before his face, "We'll be a family again, when all is said and done."

Guilford's eyes widened briefly, his lungs seeming to not be able to draw enough air as he raised his splayed hand as well, "Promise?" He asked, almost childishly.

Alterith smiled kindly, "Promise…"

The _Vincent_ turned away, "I'll be back, Alterith."

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't."

The machines turned away from each other as Alterith headed back to the _Tolkien_, Guilford to the _Absolute Zero_.

"Are you alright, Alterith?" Lelouch asked, his voice curious.

The pilot of the black Frame sighed, "Yes, I think I am now."

Lelouch closed his eyes, flashes of memories flickering through his mind, remembering how his life with Nunnally had been. Odysseus startled him out of his reverie with a frantic call.

"Lelouch, approaching high-energy beam!"

"Damn," Alterith cursed, "I screwed up!"

"No time to dwell on it," Lelouch replied, "Odysseus, raised Resonance Shields!"

"Roger."

Odysseus's fingers were a blur, jabbing commands out almost as fast as Lelouch had in the original _Shinkiro_. The _Tolkien_ glowed, glowing points of light venting from all across its hull, covering it like a second skin, adhering to the shape of its frame at a short distance from its metal plating. It was just in time as the _Ikaruga_'s Hadron beam cut through the grey of the early morning, deflecting off the radiant gold veil covering the Australian battlecruiser.

"A dirty trick!" Alterith snarled.

"Odysseus, fire the Plasma Cannons!" Lelouch ordered.

"Roger, activating startup system for Free-Flow Electron Plasma Cannons," Odysseus said, the control panel before him lighting up, "Weapon charge has cleared the sixty-percent barrier."

"Fire at forty-five percent power," Lelouch commanded, "Target _Ikaruga_ engines."

"Understood, Plasma Flow synchronized with electromagnetic field," Odysseus lets out a deep breath, "Firing!"

The _Tolkien_'s prow jutted out in three places: first, in the center, where the forward launch rails stabbed out across the air; secondly, where two conical structures on either side of the catapult rails jutted out, even with the launch bay's protective covering. The cones split , each quarter folding outward, like a flower beholding the sun. However, this was a flower of death.

Alterith had to cringe at the intensity of the plasma beams as they cut through the sky, outshining the dawning the sun. But as he did so, he grinned savagely.

"It works…"

Ohgi barely had time to cover his head as the piercing yellow rays lanced out toward the Black knights' flagship, cutting through the shields easily as they ravaged the engines, rendering the _Carrier_-Class warship incapable of doing anything other than hovering.

"What the hell was that?" Tohdoh gasped, his crippled _Zangetsu_ moving toward the _Ikaruga_.

In his cockpit, Lelouch cackled madly, "With this, the plan has moved forward," He smirked, "Welcome to the real war, United Federation of Nations!"

As the _Ikaruga_ limped down, its engine compartments in flames, toward an altitude where it could resume movement, Kallen, Gino, and Tohdoh each moved to face the _Shinkiro_, the _Tolkien_'s cannons poised to fire if they dared to attack.

"You bastard," Kallen growled, grinding her teeth.

"Kouzuki Kallen," Lelouch intoned deeply, "Japan's Red Lotus Ace. Here, we must part." He turned, returning to the _Tolkien_ as Alterith moved to the portside launch bay, Sayoko to the starboard. Jeremiah remained on standby. And with that, the _Tolkien_ promptly vanished.

0000000000

_Tokyo, Japan, 7:00 AM, September 7, 2020_

Milly looked up as the large broadcast screen, usually reserved for news or public announcements, began flickering strangely, a series of images flashing from top to bottom, finally resolving themselves into a single image: one that froze her heart. She could never forget that face: the dark locks, the sharp, aristocratic cheekbones, the piercing violet eyes.

_"I would like to address this statement to every human being born and raised a free man. We call ourselves merely the Omega Conglomerate. We are a private, armed military conglomeration in possession of the Advanced Knightmare Frames known as the Seraphim. We act for no man's gain, but for that of humanity itself. We act to eliminate all acts of war from this world. Regardless of your rationales or reasons, if there is an act of armed conflict being carried out, we will fight, defend, and intervene with armed force. I warn that any entity considered to be promoting warfare is also an acceptable target for assault._

_"I'd hoped that this message would never be needed. If you are seeing this now, it means that, unfortunately, the world has not come to peace as I had hoped," _The figure sighed, _"And thus, I, the Alpha, leave the world in the hands of Omega."_

With those final words, the image of Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia faded from the screen.

0000000000

_Darwin, Australia, 8:00 AM, September 7, 2020_

A woman closed her eyes as the broadcast. She had no doubt that the rest of the world had seen (or would be seeing) the selfsame message within minutes. It was none of her concern though. She saw no way that a former Britannian military officer could do anything to help the world, and so she was left with her last option. She fluffed her light hair as the doorbell rang, looking down at herself to be sure she was presentable. If the orders she'd received, that would be her contact. Marching through her disheveled house as she went to the door, she groaned sleepily as she turned the knob, opening it.

"About goddamned time," She yawned, eyes closed, "I was beginning to think that you—" She came to a stop as she beheld her contact, "It's you…"

_'Reflecting on life's complexity, one appreciates death's simplicity. But is that enough to diffuse an eon's-worth of conflict? The world and its people must unite to be able to move forward into the future. But it seems that peace is naught but an illusory dream._

_**'Next Lap: Renaissance**__._

_'We've moved into the Second Stage; there's no turning back.'_


	9. Lap 9

**I am so glad this is done. I'll hopefully have the next one up in a month, but don't count on it. I'm writing TWO stories now, like the idiot I am, so I'll have to get the other one's chapter out first. Enjoy this chapter, it has lasers.**

**Lap 9: Renaissance (Formerly Known as: In Which Dresses Are Worn, Shit is Blown Up, and Oreos Are Dipped in Malt Whiskey)**

_"I don't want to achieve immortality through my work, I want to achieve it through not dying."_ ~Woody Allen

_'The year was 2020 of the Britannian Imperial Calendar, humanity's supply of Sakuradite, the high-energy superconductor, was nearly depleted, due to the destruction of the Mt. Fuji mines by Lelouch vi Britannia. The United Federation of Nations had begun construction on a daring project: three orbital satellites capable of absorbing the energy of the sun's light and transferring it to the ground via highly-resistant elevation terminals. The three great nations of the world, the Holy Britannian Empire, the United State of Japan, and the Republic of China have each built up their armadas, playing a grand zero-sum game for power and resources. Enter the Omega Conglomerate, a private military conglomeration in possession of the Advanced Knightmare Frames called the _Seraphim_. Taking a stand against the UFN's machinations, the organization has finally revealed its highly advanced Knightmare drive, the Bound-State Particle Engine. With their superior performance, the Frames of the Omega Conglomerate can make a dream of peace reality.'_

0000000000

_Tokyo, Japan, 4:00 PM, September 7, 2020_

"It's a damned disgrace!" Ohgi cried, slamming his fist on his desk, "What network broadcast that message?"

"None of them," Tohdoh replied calmly, sitting to the side, "The network was hacked from within, and a lot of data was taken as well."

Ohgi looked up; he hadn't heard of this, "What? When did this happen? What data did they take?"

Tohdoh held up a hand as he sipped his tea, "Whoever hacked the network also hacked the UFN's databases and operating systems. It was a simultaneous attack, coming through 300 different routers at once. But they only needed one to get in. Once there, they wreaked havoc. They took all data concerning several Knightmare Frames and their weapons: the _Shinkiro_, _Gawain_, _Galahad_, _Siegfried_, _Sutherland Sieg_, and one called the _Constantine_. Additionally, all data regarding the Druid System is gone, and the _Ikaruga_ is missing its OS. We've taken precautions to ensure that this won't happen again."

Ohgi put a hand to his head; he needed an aspirin, "That's all we need. Even when he's dead Lelouch is still spreading his poisonous influence," He groaned, "What about our forces?"

Xingke entered through a side door, "We lost about forty Knightmare Frames; additionally, the _Shen Hu_ and _Zangetsu_ were severely damaged, and the _Albion_, _Guren_, and _Tristan_ all suffered major damage. The _Ikaruga_ was damaged as well, but only on the bow."

"Speaking of the _Ikaruga_," Ohgi asked as Viletta walked in through the same door Xingke had entered by, carrying their silvery-haired daughter, Chigusa, "Whose was that Knightmare, the one that saved us?"

"It was a Britannian Frame, Office of Secret intelligence," Tohdoh answered, looking up from the documents in his lap.

"OSI?" Ohgi asked, turning to his wife, but she shrugged.

"If it is, I didn't know," She replied, "Information was compartmentalized; nobody knew anything they didn't need to know."

"They sent Gino Weinberg over to escort us to the _Absolute Zero_," Xingke added, pointing out the door where the blond knight was attempting to chat up Ohgi's secretary (needless to say it wasn't working.)

The Japanese Prime Minister sighed quietly, "Well, we might as well get going then."

0000000000

_The _Tolkien_, Pacific Ocean, 5:00 PM_

Lelouch liked his offices big. He liked a large space where he could feel unfettered. He liked plush couches that were comfortable enough for him to ponder his next move on the board. He liked a wide desk with plenty of space to stretch his legs. He even had a kind of fondness for wall-sized flat-screen TVs. His personal quarters had all that. What it didn't have was any kind of reminder of his past life. He supposed that was his fault, as he wasn't able to retrieve any from where he left them. The only thing he'd kept on his person was Nunnally's crane, and that damned witch, C.C., had accidentally shuffled it into her bag along with all of her pizza paraphernalia.

He sifted through his pile of paperwork as Jeremiah entered through the side door, meant only for those who knew his identity. It was never locked, but did require identification. The knight stood patiently to the side until his Lord acknowledged him.

"What is it, Jeremiah?"

"Your Majesty," The margrave began hesitantly, "I'm not sure how to explain this, but—"

"I sensed it," Lelouch replied, not looking up from his work, surprising Jeremiah, "Alterith and I both when we were conversing in the Dream World," He put down his pen as he looked up, long dark hair falling over one eye, "He said he had some theories as to what happened. You experience some form of a vision, right?"

"Indeed," Jeremiah replied, sitting down in the chair across from the former Britannian Emperor. He explained all that had happened in the vision, Lelouch's expression never wavered but for the time he mentioned Sayoko, prompting a raised eyebrow. When he was done, he said, "I was experiencing everything, but it felt like I had no control over my body."

Lelouch remained stern looking until he closed his eyes, letting out a short burst of laughter, "Ha! I should congratulate you, Jeremiah. You're the first person who has confronted me with such a quandary," He shifted the pile of paper, now done, to give his knight his full attention, "I'd suggest talking to Alterith. He's been down in the hangar since we stopped to resupply in Australia."

Jeremiah nodded, leaving Lelouch to stare ponderously into his reflection across his mask's face. He followed the shortest path to the hangar, nearly getting run over by a passing materials transport. As he arrived at the hangar, he sighted his target. Alterith stood on the highest walkway, wearing his distinctive inverted-cross shirt, his coat hanging far off on the _Peregrine_'s upraised middle finger, gesticulating wildly at a crane crew and yelling to be heard over the din of the bay's heavy machinery, working to repair whatever damage their machines may have suffered. He stopped as he spotted Jeremiah, handing off his clipboard to Jones. He slid down the ladder gracefully, walking to meet his comrade.

"Jeremiah, how goes it?" He asked, half-distracted by a large shipping container being shifted across the bay, away from the closed launch rails.

"That's the new machine," Jeremiah said, only half-asking, as he also watched the shipping container being set down beside the _Nukenin_.

"Yes," Alterith hissed excitedly, "SR-005, _Justinian_." As he finished, his demeanor grew serious, "I assume you want to speak about your vision," At Jeremiah's nod, he sighed, "Well, it couldn't be avoided," He grabbed his coat from his Knightmare's talon, chuckling at the obscene gesture the machine made (under his direction, of course).

The two made their way back to Lelouch's office, not even turning his gaze as they entered through the side door.

"So, you've had a vision," Alterith murmured, falling onto one of Lelouch's couches, attached to a medium-sized wine cabinet, "I get the feeling that I'll only raise more questions than anything."

"Even so, I need to know what's going on," Jeremiah pressed, "What's happening to me?"

Alterith closed his eyes, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet, "From what I can tell, you're advancing," He took a swig from the bottle, wiping away what little trickled from the corner of his mouth, "By which I mean, you're transcending humanity's limits," He looked to the Britannian knight, "Myself and His Majesty have also transcended human limits, but in a different way."

"That's right," Lelouch added, "Alterith and I are beyond man's existence…"

"On the other hand," Alterith continued, taking another sip, "You have exceeded mankind's sense of time."

"What?" Jeremiah asked, now thoroughly confused.

"You, Jeremiah, are ascending beyond human perception," Alterith said seriously, "You can see things that others can't. You're a prophet."

"A prophet?" Lelouch asked, an interested smile crossing his face, "Do you mean that in a metaphorical context, or a religious one?"

"I wasn't aware there was any distinction," Alterith replied, "Abram, Jesus of Nazareth, Muhammad ibn Abdullah…" He turned to the _Siegfried_'s pilot, "even your namesake, Jeremiah of Anathot."

"All religious leaders," Jeremiah said, waving his hand, "I've never been one for blind faith."

Lelouch opened his mouth, about to speak, when his desk gave a small beep, its hologram projector displaying an information window, "Alterith, Jeremiah, we'll discuss this later. The two of you have to go greet our returning personnel. And also," He stood, popping open the collar of his white-and-gold suit, revealing the armored uniform beneath, "There's something from the Australian Embassy."

"The Embassy?" Alterith asked, confused.

"It will be explained when you get there."

The two left, navigating the ship until they reached the deck, a flat stretch of metal used for both socializing, as well as a runway for transports.

"Jeremiah," Alterith began as they stood on the deck, waiting, "I don't know why you're becoming a prophet, but I do know that you'll use it for good."

"Thank you, Alterith," The Margrave replied.

The two stood, framed by the setting sun until they both felt the change in the air. The pair looked up, sighting a long streak of red growing larger as it fell to Earth.

"He's here."

0000000000

_The _Absolute Zero_, Japan, 5:00 PM_

Nunnally blinked as the Japanese Prime Minister entered her quarters, Tamaki, Kallen, Xingke, and Tohdoh following him, Gino bowing his way out. Suzaku had already been aboard for a while.

"Good evening to you, Prime Minister Ohgi," She said, her voice even, with a cold sliver of ice behind it.

"Evening to you too, Empress Nunnally," He replied affably, "I understand that we are to be taken to see the Knightmare Frame that saved the _Ikaruga_."

"There's a bit more to it than that," She said, rolling to the door, "But there's no point right now. You won't believe it until you see it."

The UFN entourage blinked at her cryptic words, following her as she led them down winding corridors, accompanied by Gino. Cornelia called over the PA, announcing that the _SR Vincent_ had returned and was safely aboard.

"_SR Vincent_," Xingke murmured, "Was that the machine that prevented the _Peregrine_ from destroying the _Ikaruga_?"

"Indeed," Nunnally answered, opening the door to the hangar bay, "You're about to meet the pilot."

She moved her wheelchair to a special elevator, the rest of the group taking the stairs down. They came to the hangar floor as a gold and white Knightmare barreled in, kneeling down in a typical Britannian pose. The cockpit hatch hissed open as the UFN group came face-to-face with the most unlikely pilot they'd ever seen.

A bearded old man descended from the _Vincent_'s cockpit, a gold-colored pilot suit clinging to his frame. Despite his age, his yellow eyes gleamed with a youthful flame, and he moved lithely, less like a feeble old tomcat and more akin to a leopard, hunting for its prey. He smirked as he approached Nunnally, popping open the collar of his flight suit.

"Hello, Your Majesty," He said, deep voice resonating in the hangar's confines.

"Everyone, may I introduce Arisseos ibn Infinis," Nunnally said, "A member of the OSI."

"Is it really okay to show us your face, since you're OSI and all?" Tamaki asked, droning voice grating on several peoples' nerves.

The old man grinned, putting a hand to his beard, which hung down to his chest, "You remind me of my big brother."

"And who was he?"

"_Is_, not was. I'd appreciate it if you didn't refer to Alterith as though he were dead," Arisseos opened his hand, closing his eyes, before his words' weight hit the gathered crowd.

"Alterith and you are…" Tohdoh trailed off

"Yes, that's right," Arisseos answered, smiling, thick grey beard bristling roguishly, "Alterith ver Degralis is my elder brother."

"That's impossible," Xingke countered, turning to cough into his shoulder, "You're too old. I've fought Alterith myself, and he's a young man."

"Those who exist beyond mortal limits can take many forms," Aris replied, "Alterith, like myself, is an immortal being capable of controlling space-time."

"Now you're just screwing with us," Tamaki waved a finger at him, "I don't believe one bit of this crap."

"What a rude man," Aris commented, now standing behind him, "I really don't understand what potential Alterith sees in you…"

Tamaki whirled, eyes gaping, "How the hell did you do that?"

Aris, now sitting on the back of Nunnaly's wheelchair, replied, "I altered my position in space-time, allowing me to traverse vast distances with no delay."

"Moving faster than any human possibly can," Tohdoh murmured, "What are you?"

"I am everything my brother isn't," Aris answered standing on the walkway they had recently descended from, "We're mirror images, born at the very beginning."

"Beginning of what?" Kallen asked.

"Everything," He replied simply, "As such, I am the only one who is capable of reading him."

"So, what was he like?" Tohdoh asked, "You grew up with him, didn't you?"

"I did," Aris replied, "But he's changed. It's been nearly two thousand years since we last saw each other, and that was under the best of circumstances."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Kallen asked, upper lip curled in a half-snarl at the mention of the black-haired pilot.

"I sewed him that coat," Aris replied.

"Sewed?" Tamaki asked, now completely convinced of everything Aris was saying (he really was quite dim), "You're a god aren't you? Why not just magic it up?"

"It wouldn't have the same meaning," Arisseos replied, eyes growing wistful, "When you make something for someone you care about, the work should be that of your own hands. It is the only way to pour your feelings into that gift: to create it with both your heart, mind, and body."

Tamaki blinked, evidently trying to gauge the god's seriousness, "Are you for real?"

"Of course," Aris turned toward him, gold eyes flashing, "I love my brother. I would give my life for him, so if you want my help, you must promise not to harm him in any way."

"What makes you think that we need your help?" Kallen asked, "I came close to beating him with my _Guren_."

"Your god-given talent is prodigious (pardon the pun), but you do not concert your mind with your body," Aris countered, "Your machine's strengths lie in its close combat abilities, its Radiant Wave Surger and the like. Even though you can apply it at long- and wide-range, its accuracy and effectiveness are substantially reduced against high-performance Frames like the _Peregrine_."

"He's right," A new voice rang.

"Cornelia?" Nunnally turned in her chair, straining to see her elder half-sister.

"You fight well, Captain Kouzuki," Cornelia addressed Kallen formally, "But you don't think as tactically as myself or Zero. You beat Kururugi, and that is a feat worth praising, but you can't just beat everyone the same way. The Knight of Zero was the same type of fighter as yourself—"

"A Class One warrior," Tohdoh intoned.

"Exactly," Cornelia nodded in acknowledgement, "However, Alterith is a completely different class, a Class Two. While people like you and Kururugi fight with your hearts, Alterith fights with his head, like another opponent we've faced…"

The hangar fell utterly silent at the passing mention of Lelouch.

Coughing, Aris continued, "It's as Princess Cornelia says. Against you Alterith fought from a distance, and when he couldn't, he utilized whatever he could to keep you from attacking properly. He uses his strengths to cover his weaknesses, using speed to compensate for lack of shields, and long-range attacks to counterbalance your close-range abilities. However," Aris fell into a brooding pause, "This alone does not explain his ability. I cannot help but think that somebody has taught him the weaknesses and strengths of your skill levels, combat styles, and Knightmare Frames; in short, somebody who is or once was high up in the Black Knight hierarchy."

"That can't be," Ohgi said, "All the Black Knight staff are accounted for."

"All of them?" Aris raised an eyebrow, "Even the CEO?"

Ohgi hesitated a half-second too long, "Of course!"

Aris closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath, "Don't think I don't know about the betrayal of the First Zero by the Black Knight command staff," He warned.

"He betrayed us!" Ohgi snapped, slamming his fist against a wall, a loud bang resonating, "He used us like pawns!"

"Is that what he told you?" Aris's right eyebrow shot upward even further, "Well, if that's the case…" He trailed off sarcastically.

"How can you know?" Ohgi yelled at him, "How can you possibly know?"

"I know because my brother is a better judge of character than anyone in the known multiverse," Aris stated bluntly, "And the one time he couldn't read a person was because he was blinded. If my brother has taken up Lelouch vi Britannia's banner, then it's because he believes in him!" With that, Aris stormed toward the _Vincent_, ascending to its cockpit as he yelled at an attendant, "Let's run the test again!"

As the gold Knightmare took off again, Xingke, who had been silent throughout Aris and Cornelia's lecture, spoke up, "So what is it about that Knightmare you want us to see?"

Nunnally, pursed her lips, placing a finger on the collar of her dress, "Lord Infinis, please demonstrate Flight Form 1," She ordered into the dress's hidden microphone.

Above, the _SR Vincent_ saluted in acknowledgement, shooting forward with a burst of cobalt light. Xingke squinted to see it, then opened his eyes wide as the Knightmare Frame dove downward nearly as fast as the _Guren_. It turned sharply, executing maneuvers that even Tohdoh would be hard-pressed to accomplish. A swarm of practice drones flew out of the _Absolute Zero_, forming a dark cloud as they converged on the modified _Vincent_. The Knightmare shot forward, the drones flocking behind it. Pushing as much power as possible to the engines, the _Vincent_ seemed to hang, suspended in space for a moment, before blasting backward and eliminating the drones with a strafe of its Hadron Cannons.

"H-how can that be?" Xingke stammered, "Such mobility, using only a Float Unit?"

"That would be a question better posed to me," Lloyd Asplund answered as he walked into the hangar, leaving a corridor that presumably led to the Special Forces lab.

"What kind of engine does that machine use?" Tohdoh asked, "It completely outstrips anything the UFN has."

Lloyd smirked, "It's a Bound-State Particle Engine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tamaki asked.

"It's a power system designated for the original Ganymede Knightmare. However, after the Ashford's fall from grace following Empress Marianne's death and due to budget constraints, the system was scrapped in favor of the Sakuradite-based system we use now," Lloyd's eyes flashed, "That, however, was a dangerous mistake."

"Why's that?" Xingke asked, "I don't know as much as you or Rakshata about the way Knightmares work, but I thought that the systems we used now were the best we had…"

"That's where you're wrong," Lloyd countered, "The Bound-State Particle Engine has the potential to produce a limitless amount of power."

"No way!" Kallen exclaimed, "What's its fuel source?"

"It takes whatever energy is available, usually sunlight, and uses it to manufacture high-energy particles used in its weaponry and propulsion systems," Lloyd answered, "However, the version we have is incomplete. Because of missing components, our engine's Quantum Core only works for a certain number of cycles before it begins to destabilize, at which point we have to take it out and retune the whole thing. That process itself can take up to a week. If the engine is forced to run over its set number of cycles, it can cause catastrophic damage when the Core destabilizes and runs out of control."

Most of Asplund's speech soared far over the heads of his audience, but the important things got through, like _'destabilize,'_ _'high-energy,'_ and _'catastrophic damage.'_

"Wait," Tamaki muttered, "You said you were missing some components?"

"Indeed," Lloyd replied, "And it seems that Omega found it."

"What?" Ohgi gasped, "He has the components?"

"Yes," Lloyd answered, "Though how he managed to get them is beyond me."

"Why's that?" Tamaki asked again, once more displaying his great gift of blab, "How hard can it be to make it?"

"It's not the making that's difficult," Lloyd said, "In the right environment, we could make about twenty a year. It's _getting there_ that's the problem."

"Why?" Kallen asked, "If it's too far, couldn't the UFN do something about it? Even if it's in a non-member country, we could still—"

"That depends, Miss Kouzuki," Lloyd smiled knowingly, "Could the UFN finance a mission to Jupiter?"

The hangar fell quiet once again.

"Jupiter?" Tamaki half-screeched, "Like the _planet_?"

"Not like it; it is it," Lloyd smirked, "Congratulations!"

"Space expeditions take a long time for the UFN to assemble, due to the demands of each member-state," Xingke noted, "Since Britannia is an Observer State, and as such, not bound by UFN politics, it has the power to mount such expeditions on its own, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but even with current technology, it can take anywhere from ten to eighteen months to get to the planet, depending on the intervening distance," Lloyd closed his eyes, sighing, "The problem is that we need to be able to manufacture the stabilizing mechanisms within Jupiter's gravitational field. Thus, you can see the predicament," His eyes locked with Xingke's, "We can't carry enough fuel to escape Jupiter's gravity and to get us back with the additional weight of the stabilizers."

"That makes sense," Xingke replied, "The question is: how long have they been at this? If it was since Lelouch ascended the throne, they'd still be far from completing the project," He looked to Lloyd, "Yet, you say that he's already completed it?"

"Indeed," Lloyd nodded, a bird-like dip of his chin that reminded everyone of an owl, "Which means…"

"He's found a shortcut," Xingke finished, "Is there any way to simulate a high-gravity environment similar to Jupiter's?"

"There's one," Lloyd informed him, "You could use a centrifuge."

"I see," Xingke nodded, "That's basic physics, the outward force acts as artificial gravity, but how big would it have to be?"

"Roughly the size of… er," Lloyd displayed his hands as far apart as he could, "Switzerland?"

The hangar bay fell silent for the third time that day.

"Seriously?" Tamaki asked, "That big?"

"Yes," Lloyd answered, leaning against the hangar's walls, "Which is why it's such a mystery as to how Omega acquired the stabilizers."

Tohdoh blinked questioningly, "How could Omega have gotten his hands on this information? I assume that it's top-secret."

Cornelia interjected, "It is. Lloyd thinks he knows how."

Lloyd nodded, "I was going through the old Ganymede Project files after that Particle Engine-equipped monster tore our forces apart, when I found something rather curious," From within his coat, he produced a framed picture (how he fit it in there no one knew), "Look there," He said, passing it to Tohdoh.

Tohdoh took the picture skeptically, Cornelia looking over his shoulder, and immediately, they both spoke the same word, "Impossible!"

0000000000

_The _Tolkien_, Pacific Ocean, 6:00 PM_

Alterith smiled broadly as he saw the landing craft loaded aboard the _Tolkien_. Turning to Jeremiah, he beckoned him to follow, leading the way to the hangar bay. Emerging into the hangar, Alterith burdened by a bottle of Scotch whisky and a pack of Oreo's "liberated" from the kitchen, the pair descended the lattice-stairs easily, standing before the lander as the mission leader exited the craft.

"Booze?" He offered, holding the bottle before him.

"Thank you, Elliot," Reuben Ashford replied, popping the cork and taking a long draught of the alcohol. He was a tall man, slightly rotund, and with a bristling grey beard. His beige coat blended well with his slacks, and he greeted Alterith with a familiar affability, "Are those Oreos?"

"Yep," Alterith replied, "I already poured my whiskey in a glass, and so…" He paused, dipping a cookie into the alcohol, then popping the whole thing into his mouth, "Mmm… 1885 Scotch malt whiskey…"

"Elliot," Reuben began, "There's something we need to talk about…"

"It's about the Quantum Wave Stabilizers, isn't it?" Alterith replied as Jeremiah moved off to oversee the unloading of the landing craft's cargo.

"Yes, we managed to create more than we expected, but…"

"A number, Reuben, give me a number," Alterith ordered, "I won't be mad, I swear."

Reuben Ashford sighed, seemingly a defeated man, "Nine," He said, "Only nine."

"Damn," Alterith whispered, "We'd hoped for more. What else did you bring?"

Reuben looked at his list, "Upgrade parts to aid particle transfer, as well as 005's rifle-shields and the Six of Swords equipment," Alterih seemed to relish this, "And I even included a surprise for you."

"Oh, I love surprises," Alterith murmured, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, "What about SR-006?"

Reuben looked up, "There was an accident during testing. The test pilot, an intern, and the Engine are fine, but the Frame is wrecked."

"Double damn," Alterith muttered, "I had hoped our fifth ace could use it."

"I met him once, you know?"

"Did you, now?" Alterith raised an eyebrow, "When was that?"

"I ran into him at an engineer's seminar in 2014. He was giving a lecture on Knightmare Frame design. Brilliant man," Ashford nodded, "We discussed designs over lunch, and he showed me a remarkable sketch, let me see…" He pulled out a piece of paper from the briefcase his aide had left on the floor beside him, pen flashing furiously, "There, a rough design…"

Alterith took the paper, looking at it quizzically. He glanced over it, then his eyes widened, "Impossible."

"Yes," Reuben nodded, "It seems he had some idea about the concept of mobile weapons."

Looking up excitedly, Alterith called an aide over, thrusting the paper into his hands, "See that Master Omega receives this. Tell him it's important, regarding the _Amaterasu_ Project. He will understand."

The aide nodded, moving past toward the bridge, where Odysseus kept an eye on the ship's systems. As he moved toward the landing craft, Jeremiah waved a large container over from the ship, a crane setting it down beside the _Justinian_.

"Ah," Reuben observed the Knightmare, "That would be her unit?"

"Yes," Alterith turned, smiling, "SR-004. I designed some of the components, the rifle-shields and such, but most of the credit goes to our field agent."

"The question is," Jeremiah said as he approached, "Will it work?"

"But of course!" Alterith exclaimed, "Do you really think so little of me?"

"Yes."

"Fair enough," Alterith looked outside, "We need to run some tests on the _Peregrine_ and _Siegfried_, Jeremiah."

"Very well," The margrave replied.

The two knights boarded a transport, carrying with them the _Peregrine_, as well as a Bound-State Particle Engine. The large craft, shape rather like a barrel with a Float Unit attached, set itself down atop a small island below the _Tolkien_.

"The _Tolkien_ is running fine, even the exterior membrane systems," Jeremiah noted as the crew began unloading the _Peregrine, Deutschland Siegfried_ and three Engines.

"Yes," Alterith looked up at the battleship, "I had a hand in that. It's a special function in its outer skin, as well as some aesthetic panels within the ship, that allows it to change color and/or appearance. For example," Alterith pulled a remote from the depths of his coat, "You could have matte black…"

The ship changed from its multi-colored theme, a wave of black diffusing from bow to stern, shades varying by the area they covered.

"…sky blue…"

Again the ship change color, this time blending in with the sky.

"…Charlie Chaplin…"

The ship took on an entirely grayscale appearance, an upbeat, old-movie-kind piano melody streaming from the ship.

"…Woodstock…"

Now the ship was adorned with vivid, curling flower patterns similar to the hippie-craze images (or LSD hallucinations) Jeremiah's parents had been a part of, which had prompted them to begin an orange farm, and some kind of old rock music rang out from the ship.

"…Catholic…"

At this setting, the ship became covered in artificially-generated stained-glass windows, all of them depicting some religious scene, a great cross adoring the bow, church choirs singing out from the ship, dredging up horrific memories of forced suit-wearing and combed-and-gelled hair for Jeremiah.

"…Jaws…"

A terrifying shark seemed to float in the air above them, the bow being painted like the gaping maw of a Great White. Suspenseful music droned from the ship, growing in intensity.

"…Predator…"

The ship dissolved from view, leaving behind an empty sky.

"That one's quite useful when we need a quick escape."

"That's great, Alterith," Jeremiah said, having freed himself of the memories of his mother belting out the words to "Silent Night" with the choir, "But can we turn the ship visible again?"

"Sure," Alterith fiddled with the remote. Nothing happened, "Uh… just give me a second," He fiddled with it some more. Nothing happened, "I could have sworn—"

Reuben snatched the remote out of his hand, pressing a single button. The ship dissolved back into view, its original color scheme restored, "There you go, Elliot."

"Thank, Reuben," Alterith turned away sheepishly, "I'd have had it in a few minutes…"

"So," Jeremiah asked, "What tests are we running?"

"First," Alterith looked up at the two machines towering over him, "We need to evaluate the machines' performance with the Particle Engines."

"Why did we bring three?"

"That's why we brought the _Siegfried_ with us," Alterith turned to Jeremiah, "We're going to see if Reuben's Engine Sync Theory is accurate."

"I don't remember much of it," Jeremiah said, "Remind me."

"The Engine Sync Theory states that when multiple Particle Engine's are synchronized, the resulting particle emission is increased by exponentials. Thus, two synched Engines yields the particle amount of one Engine squared—"

"And three Engines cubes it, and so on," Jeremiah finished, following the logic, "What does this have to do with me?"

"We're mounting the _Siegfried_ with two synchronized Engines," Alterith said simply, "This will be our test to see if it works. If we're successful, the SR-000 will be able to perform well above standard."

"I know that His Majesty needs a unit," Jeremiah looked toward the _Tolkien_, "But isn't the _Shinkiro Repair_ enough for now?"

"The _Shinkiro_ was a one-hit wonder," Reuben pronounced, "It only worked because the enemy wasn't prepared for its new features and increased power," Reuben wiped the sweat off his forehead as he approached, "But in standard combat, it can't compete with the _Guren_ and _Albion_ and their pilots."

"I understand," Jeremiah nodded, "Let's get on with the tests."

Fifteen minutes and one coffee spill later, the two Knightmare Frame engineers retreated into a shielded bunker, Jeremiah having taken up residence in the _Siegfried_. Alterith stood at the helm of operations, dispatching orders while watching the _Siegfried_ through the mobile bunker's viewport.

"Right, then. Jeremiah," Alterith called out to his fellow pilot, "We've nested a drive cone in each of the _Sieg_'s pauldrons. Start up the Binary System."

"Understood," A red light flashed out from the console of Jeremiah's Knight Giga Fortress, his mechanical eye reflecting its circuitry while his human one reflected his retina, "Jeremiah Gottwald, _Deutschland Siegfried_, engaging Binary Engine System!"

As he spoke the words, he fired up the _Siegfried_'s dual engines, particles gushing from the machine's vents. Immediately, the synchronization between the two engines rose sharply.

"Engine Sync Rate at forty-seven percent, sir!" One technician called out.

"Keep her steady, Jeremiah," Alterith warned.

"If we can get it above eighty-five percent synchronization, we'll be within the stable operation range," Reuben murmured.

"Sixty-eight percent," Another tech reminded.

"Alright, Jeremiah," Alterith ordered, "Let 'er rip!"

"Engaging dual engines at full power," Jeremiah acknowledged.

"It's working!" One excitable tech exclaimed.

"We're developing an error in the Particle Defect Void," Another tech spoke up suddenly, "Particle production is decreasing."

As he heard this news, Jeremiah resorted to the one thing that had always worked for him: talking to inanimate objects, "I'm here, _Siegfried_, and I know you're nervous, but we need you to work," He ground his teeth, thinking of the adversaries he would face, "All of us are depending on you: Alterith," He looked up, seeing the dark-haired pilot frantically issuing orders to stabilize the Void, "Sayoko… His Majesty…" He couldn't bear to think of Lelouch's disappointed expression, "And me!" With that, he pushed the _Siegfried_'s engines once more.

"What's this?" Alterith whispered, shocked as he fell to a kneeling position, "I'm feeling… strange."

"I feel it too," Reuben murmured, "Engine Sync Rate's climbing back up," He informed them, "It's hit eighty percent, and still climbing."

"No, I mean…" Alterith blinked, eyes flashing violet as he pushed himself upright against the wall of the bunker, "I feel stronger. Powerful."

"I don't understand. How is Jeremiah doing this?" Reuben trailed off before he drew a sharp breath, "Could he have inadvertently activated _that_ system?" He peered closely at the machine, and sought out the faint emerald glow it was emanating, red lines pulsating across it, "He did."

"The Seventh Sword," Alterith murmured reverently. After a moment, he smiled, "You've outdone yourself, Reuben. With this, _L.L._ will be invincible."

0000000000

_The _Absolute Zero_, Japan, 5:23 PM_

"So, Alterith was part of the original Ganymede project?" Tohdoh asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I just spent the last _ten minutes_ explaining to you!" Lloyd snapped irritably, "Honestly, why do you people keep repeating everything I said so that the reader knows what the off-screen discussion was about?" As he paused to take a breath, Cecile deftly slid a pack of pudding under the helpless Earl's nose, thus mollifying him and saving the Black Knights from an even longer rant.

"If that's true, that means he would know how to design a Particle Engine," Tohdoh murmured aloud.

"Not true," Lloyd waved a hand, "Each member of the team was given a different job, so that nobody but the project leader would know how to assemble one," He pointed at the picture (the "funny one" that's never actually funny), where Alterith was shown sharing a bottle of whiskey beside a younger Reuben Ashford, "This was taken nearly thirty years ago, back when they were still working on the First-Generation Ganymede. About a year after this picture was taken, the man here, labeled Elliot A. Games, was killed when the mechanism he was working on exploded."

"I though he couldn't die," Tamaki said.

"He can't," Aris leaned forward and picked up the picture frame, "But he _can_ be killed."

"That makes absolutely no sense!" Kallen snapped.

"If his physical form sustains too much damage and is unable to repair itself," Aris seemed to look for the words he needed, "His body will be recycled, but his astral form will be reincarnated into a new body. That's how he came to be Lord Guilford's step-brother."

"How is that possible?" Kallen asked.

"It's really quite interesting," Aris murmured, "First you have t_—_" He stopped, a shocked expression on his face, and collapsed.

"Are you okay?" Xingke asked, rushing to the side of the Lord of Space.

Aris shuddered for a moment, then his eyes seemed to clear, "I think so," He looked up at Xingke, gripping his arms, "You're waning, aren't you?"

"Hm?" Xingke made a small sound of confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I can see it," Aris whispered hoarsely, pulling Xingke down to kneel beside him, "You hide it from the others, but you know it as well," He closed his eyes, seeking out the ebb of energy, "I can also see that you have been absolved," He murmured softly, "Take care not to err anymore, for that absolution is both a blessing and a binding responsibility."

"What does that mean?"

Aris smiled, "It means you have the power to choose your fate."

Xingke cocked an eyebrow, confused, but helped the other man up as Arisseos ibn Infinis interjected, "So, what mechanism was Alterith working on?"

Lloyd grinned, "I don't know. The data was destroyed along with the mechanism, but it was supposed to be incredibly powerful."

To say that the leaders of the world were dismayed was an understatement.

Then Ohgi seemed to remember something, "Even so, it doesn't matter. They still can't stand up to our greatest weapon."

Xingke looked to the Japanese Prime Minister, "Ohgi, you don't mean..."

"What are you talking about?" Aris asked.

Reluctantly, Tohdoh handed him a file from his seemingly neverending pile of the sheafs. It was no less than ten minutes later when Arisseos finished reading it.

"YOU IDIOTS!" He roared, hurling the file at Ohgi's face with impressive accuracy, "You would build something such as this? This has all the power of those damned F.L.E.I.A. weapons, concentrated!"

"What of it?" Ohgi aked coldly, "If it's to protect the world from the influence of that _demon_, I'll do whatever is necessary."

Aris growled, jabbing his finger at Ohgi, arcs of lightning shooting from his hands in anger, "Be warned, Ohgi. I may fight alongside you, but I sure as HELL am not with you!" He drew back, the small lightning storm abating, "I'll leave you alive because Alterith says you're necessary, and don't you ever forget that. Begone!"

He snapped his fingers and the world went black.

0000000000

_The _Tolkien, _Lelouch's Quarters, Pacific Ocean, 6:30 PM_

Alterith held up the gold-laced card, looking at it wonderously, "It's so... _pretty_!"

"What's it for?" Jeremiah asked, looking at the card with a mix of curiosity and revulsion.

"I don't know, but just look," Alterith murmured, "It's just beautiful," His head snapped to the side as a small metal ball flew through the air, glinting in the artificial light.

Jeremiah snatched away the card while Alterith was distracted, opening it, "It's an invitation to the Austrailian ambassador and a guest, for an exposition of the UFN's new Knightmare frame, and a new weapon," He pulled a small leaf of paper from the inside, "That doesn't sound very good. There's a note from the Austrailian embassy in Berlin. The ambassador thought His Majesty might be interested in this event, and asks that we send one undercover agent to observe the Expo, preferably female."

Lelouch, leaning back in his chair, nodded, "We can't send Sayoko, as the UFN already knows that she's with us. And we can't send," He shuddered, "_her_, for fear of the things she'll do to all the other attendees."

"I have a suggestion, Majesty," Alterith leaned down, whispering quickly in Lelouch's ear.

The Emperor's face cycled through a number of expressions, from confusion, to astonishment, to disgust, to nauseousness, to contemplation, and finally, consideration, "That could actually work. See if you can do it, then run a check."

"Right," Alterith nodded, hurrying out of the room, coat whirling.

"What was he suggesting?" Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.

Lelouch told him. Jeremiah's expressions followed Lelouch's, "That's slightly disturbing, but also seems like a workable solution. With your permission, I'll accompany them, and oversee the operation."

"You have it," Lelouch put a hand to his head, deep in thought, "Keep the _Siegfried_ and _Peregrine_ on standby close by. You never know when you may need them."

"Understood," Jeremiah bowed his way out.

Lelouch slumped across his desk, toying with a strand of hair for a few minutes before muttering to himself, "The question is...will I need that backup?"

"I think that question should be reserved for another time," A cool, feminine voice murmured from the doorway, "Isn't that right, Master Lelouch?"

Lelouch looked up at the attractive woman leaning against the doorframe of his office. A wine-colored dress perfectly suited the upcoming event, and her facial features were sharp and angular.

Lelouch blinked boredly, "Are you sure that you're male, Alterith?"

"Do you like it?" He asked—still with a feminine voice—shaking free long, black hair, "I used hair extensions."

Lelouch nodded, then looked down at his desk, grimacing, "Why are you here, Alterith?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why do you side with me?" Lelouch asked, turning to him, "You follow my commands without question, you defend me against my enemies, but I am no saint. I have the blood of thousands on my hands. Why is it that you stand by me?"

Alterith looked down at his own hands, "I follow you because… If you have a chance at redemption," He looked up nervously, "Then maybe I do, too." He closed his eyes, "I follow you, Lelouch, because you and I are very much alike. We've both committed great sins, but we're both searching for the same answer: a meaning to our struggle, our lives. I follow you, Majesty, because even though my own soul is tainted by the people I've killed and the misery I've caused, as yours is, _you_, Lelouch vi Britannia, have a dream that's worth fighting for, a banner worth fighting under, a cause worth dying for."

There was a long pause, then a knock at the door, and Reuben Ashford entered, "Lelouch, I was wonder—" He froze as he saw his longtime friend (who was unrecognizable), "Oh. Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, Reuben," Alterith tapped his chin, "I wonder..."

"What was that, Reuben?" Lelouch tried to re-rail the man's train of thought.

"I was, uh, wondering when we were going to receive the _L.L._" Reuben turned toward Alterith again, "Elliot, is that _you_?"

"Indeed it is, Reuben," Alterith flicked his long hair, which fell to his upper back, "It's necessary for my disguise."

"I see," Knowing that the woman in the doorway was, in fact, his old workmate, Reuben turned back to Lelouch.

"Due to the necessity of secrecy, forgery of documents, processing of paperwork, and the travel time from Australia to our location," Lelouch fell back in his chair, "It may take as long as three months."

"Come on!" Reuben cried out, throwing his arms up, "I'm old! I could be dead by the time it comes in!"

"Well, send them some strongly-worded mail, then," Lelouch replied, "It doesn't really matter. In any case, we're supposed to be having a full-status report in the briefing room in twenty minutes. Both of you change into something appropriate, and be there in fifteen."

"Understood," The two replied, bowing to the departing commander.

In less than seventeen minutes, Alterith had managed to exit his dress, don his normal clothing, and rush to the briefing room to collapse in the doorway. The briefing room was the third largest room on the ship, its size exceeded only by those of the hangar and mess hall. It was a square room of fifty feet to a side, with a ceiling height of twenty feet. Its walls were adorned with holographic projectors and flat-screen TV's for information purposes.

As the meeting got underway, Lelouch entered, cloaked, but unmasked. All in this room were in on the secret, and all had been sworn to secrecy, "Give your reports, everyone."

Alterith was first. Standing, and propping on leg up on the table, he said, "Using surveillance data from hacked satellites and polling and census information, we've determined that a full forty-seven percent of the population of Britannia and its former areas are pro-Lelouch." He gestured at the projected data, which formed a glittering blue sphere at the center of the room

Lelouch leaned back, considering the data displayed by Alterith's team, "That's interesting. Do explain."

"Despite everything that you _allegedly_ did, Master Lelouch, it seems that during your reign of terror—aside from those who were killed in the war—nobody _actually_ died," The Time Lord stood on the table now, moving directly into the data stream, "From our calculations, you are still viewed favorably by both the public, and, more importantly, the military."

"Is that so?" Lelouch murmured, placing a splayed hand on his chin in thought, "How so?"

"In the event that you were to reveal your survival, Majesty," Alterith began, "It is our conservative estimate that you could have forty-six percent of Britannia's automated armed forces on your side, enough to suppress a rebellion by the rest, especially with our specialized units here."

There was much nodding around the table. Alterith spoke sense (even if it wasn't the norm for him.) Jeremiah was next. He kicked back in his chair and spoke loudly.

"The UFN is already investigating our sources," He intoned gravely, "It's unlikely that they'll discover our foundries and factories in the Fatherland," His smiled slightly at the name they had given to the continent of Australia, "But just in case, we're deploying double security measures."

Lelouch nodded at this, gesturing for Jeremiah to continue.

"Also, we've discovered that a high-up contingent of the Britannian military seems to be looking for something, though we don't know who, or what," Jeremiah shuffled the projected data around with his mind, isolating and highlighting the search pattern, "This is what we've gotten over the last few days."

"Stay with it and see what comes up," Lelouch muttered, "Sayoko?"

"Our sources state that a disgruntled contingent of the UFN in contact with the Taliban and the IRA are going to launch an attack, and soon," The Japanese woman stood, speaking forcefully, but gently, "We believe the attack will take place here," She indicated a point on the rotating globe that now dominated the hologram.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, "Oh? If that's true, then this could be an excellent opportunity to gain some powerful allies. Alterith, this is your area of expertise. What do you think of the situation?"

Alterith mused for a moment, hands folded before his chest, "I think that the best thing to do would be to try to head off the attack at its start, with the Seraphim in position to counter any offensive."

"That's a decent plan," Lelouch nodded, "I'll take care of that operation, but what if there's an attack within the city, via infantry?"

"I'll take care of that," Alterith murmured, biting a fingernail, "I have a friend within the College; he can get me into the city and the building."

"I see," Lelouch nodded, "Reuben?"

"I've replaced the _Peregrine_'s and _Siegfried_'s Particle Compressors with the necessary engines, as well as modifying them on the fly. I stripped _Peregrine_ of its quad Hadron Blasters and replaced it with a Spitfire; it'll be able to rapid-fire at a faster rate with a reduced power level. I did the same with the _Siegfried_ and its dual Blasters. Additionally, I affixed the Six of Swords Configuration and recalibrated the Majesty Sword just to be safe."

"Right," Lelouch nodded, "Odysseus?"

"Our engineers are preparing as best they can, but are you sure about this, just letting them wield such power?" Odysseus looked up questioningly, "It seems more likely to do harm than good."

"It may, but it's a risk we must take," Lelouch replied, "In order to move forward, the world must be able to progress. Out of fifty-seven other plans, this was the best."

Odysseus nodded, "Understood. In that case, we estimate that it will be approximately two to six months before the UFN is able to manufacture enough Particle Engines to install in the entirety of their forces."

"How long for custom units like the _Guren_?" Jeremiah asked.

Odysseus grimaced now, "Less than three weeks."

There was a long silence before Alterith spoke, "Well, _damn_!"

"It is, as Alterith so eloquently puts it, unfortunate that our enemies will be able to fight levelly with us so soon," Lelouch intoned, "But our overall objective remains unchanged. Is that clear?" This was no longer Commander Zero, the man who had been CEO of the Black Knights, this was Emperor Lelouch, Head of the Omega Conglomerate.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The table's occupants, save for the Emperor himself, stood as one and bowed.

Alterith and Jeremiah lingered as the others left to return to their business, Sayoko heading to the hangar to run some tests for the _Nukenin_, Odysseus returning to the helm.

"Majesty, the Exhibition is in two weeks," Jeremiah reminded him, "We'll need to dispatch immediately in order to be able to join the Australian delegation."

"Do so," Lelouch replied, "_Justinian_ will join you, just in case you need an ace up your sleeve."

"What about you, Master Lelouch?" Alterith raised an eyebrow, "Surely the _Tolkien_ does not appreciate full security while missing three of its four custom Knightmares."

"You forget, Alterith," Lelouch smirked, "We're receiving a shipment of _Wombats_ tomorrow morning."

"Ah…" Alterith nodded, "Yes, that's right. The new Australian Knightmares, which will soon be equipped with Bound State Particle Engines, right?"

"Yes, now go, the both of you," The two saluted, then turned to leave. As they did, Lelouch bowed his head, alone in the great room. In the quiet of the vast emptiness, he murmured two words.

_Be safe._

0000000000

_Berlin, Germany, 7:27 PM, September 21, 2020 ATB_

Aris sighed as he leaned against the wall of Charlottenburg Palace, the largest remaining palace in Berlin, "Why in the name of Dad am I here?"

"Don't ask me," Grumbled Tohdoh, who had also been coerced into attendance, "I find these to be a waste of time. I could be doing something productive."

Aris chuckled, "Alterith would say you need some fun in your life."

"Whatever admiration I may have for him in terms of combat prowess," Tohdoh murmured, "He seems… strange."

At that, Aris gave a hearty laugh, "Others have tried to use better words and failed," Then he took on a contemplative expression, "But he wasn't always such. He used to be arrogant, self-assured of his own invincibility. It's one of the things that wound him up in this dimension."

"You say that as though there were others."

Aris smirked, turning to look at the Japanese general, "You wouldn't understand," At the slight look of affront on Tohdoh's face, he amended his statement, "Or rather, you don't have the worldview to understand."

Tohdoh seemed to accept that (he was already dealing with gods and the supernatural), and settled back against the wall. It wasn't long before Chiba arrived, cradling a pair of wine glasses on her forearm.

"You look like you could use a drink," She smiled, offering the Japanese general a drink.

Tohdoh took the proffered beverage, "Thank you," He murmured, "I've never really had much interest in these."

"That's a shame," Chiba replied, "It's a nice place, and everyone seems to be having fun. Maybe—just this one—it would be okay to cut loose?"

Tohdoh chuckled wryly at the question, "Perhaps," He said, downing his drink, "That sounds like something Alterith would say. I have to say it seems like sound advice to take in moderation."

Aris smiled, "My brother, for all his faults, has a gift with the world. He always tries to find something redeemable in a person, no matter how depraved."

"That can be a fault or a philosophy, depending on how he applies it," Chiba said casually, "Like with Lelouch… Do you think he would have seen anything redeeming in him?"

Aris had a twinkle in his eye as he spoke, "I guarantee it."

"Excuse me, sir, may I have this dance?"

Aris turned around, sighting a black-haired woman standing confidently behind him, "Me, madam?"

"Yes, you," The woman closed her eyes, and smoothed out the front of her dress, a deep maroon-colored silk, like red wine.

Aris bowed, "As you command, my lady," As he walked out to the dance floor, he spoke quietly, "I never anticipated you to show yourself like this."

"It was necessary, Arisseos," Said Alterith (for of course it was he,) "What are you doing here?"

"I was coerced into it by a very stubborn Japanese man."

"Tamaki?"

"Close."

"Oh, you mean Ohgi."

"Yes," Aris' face took on a serious look, "Alterith, they're building something, something awful."

Alterith looked confused for a moment, then settled back into his mood, tracing careful, elegant steps across the floor in a graceful waltz, "You were never good at subtlety, brother. Tell me, flat out."

Aris nodded, "They're building a Class-IV Type Weapon."

Alterith froze, "Are you sure?"

"I may not be subtle Alterith, but am I ever unsure?" Aris waved the question away, "It's undoubtedly Class-IV."

Alterith gritted his teeth, "Okay! Now I am _pissed off!_ I am _yea_ close to punching whoever did this in the face!" He seemed to pause, "Who did authorize this anyway?"

Aris winced. He knew this wouldn't be pleasant, "Kaname Ohgi…"

Alterith looked, for a moment, as if he would explode volcanically. His right eye twitched and there was a sharp cracking sound as he tilted his head to either side, loosening his neck. Then he regained his composure and returned to a stoic expression, "I see. How tragic for him, that he'd be willing to create so heinous a weapon for the sake of defying Lelouch."

"So, it _is_ this Lelouch who's behind all this, then."

"You of all beings would know that," Alterith rolled his eyes, "Psalm 139, remember?"

"Right," Aris nodded, remembering, "And you intend to help him reforge the world from its own ashes."

"Something like that," Alterith gritted his teeth suddenly, his body tensing.

Aris eyed him carefully, "You're weakening aren't you?" At Alterith's hesitant nod, he closed his eyes, "You've been here too long. You need to regenerate your power, or you'll completely—"

"I know, Arisseos, but not until I've completed the terms of my sentence!"

Aris smiled, "I knew you'd say that. That's why I brought you this," He paused mid-dance, reaching into his coat to withdraw a colorless wine bottle with a flourish. Within was the clearest water one could imagine.

Alterith took the bottle from his brother's hands with wonder and awe, "Water from the Holy Spring at Degralis…"

"Indeed," Arisseos nodded, "Connected through a quantum-space portal to never run out. You'll be able to survive no matter how long it takes."

Alterith looked to his brother with a broad smile, "Thank you, brother," As the dance ended, he, the shorter of the two, leaned up, looping his arms around Aris' neck and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

Arisseos rolled his eyes, "Now off with you, brother," He hastened, "You know you shouldn't be wandering around. Where is your party, anyway?"

Alterith smirked as he backed away from the floor, "The Australian delegation, of course."

Aris, caught by surprise for the first time that night, chuckled, "Of course. Which other?"

Alterith smiled, bowing as he retreated from the floor. Arisseos waited for a moment, staring after him, before leaving the floor. It was only once he'd reached the ballroom's edge was he able to fully appreciate the architecture of the Palace. The columns around the room were embellished with intricate gold trim, as were the walls and doorways. The ceiling, too, was trimmed in gold mantling and seemed to have been painted like a starry night sky. As he admired an exquisite set of curves, Arisseos managed to slam into someone very hard. Tearing his eyes away from the coiling columns around the room, (what other curves?) he turned around, gazing at the mess he'd managed to make.

"Sorry…"

Cecile Croomy put a hand to her hip and groaned in pain at the abuse that seemed to be continually heaped on her rear end, _'Next year, I'm vacationing in Germany. Nothing bad ever happens there!'_

"Miss?" She looked up to see a fit, bearded old man bending down to look at her inquisitively, "Are you alright?"

She shook her head, clearing it of the half-formed designs looming in the back of her mind. Cecile had always been a latent inventor, letting her ideas come to her rather than searching for them; she worked better that way, "Yes, I'm fine. A little bruised, but—"

"I am so sorry, _madame!_" Arisseos cried sincerely, "It was my fault, all mine. If you require any medical attention, I _insist_ that you allow me to foot the bill!"

She was taken slightly aback by his apology, "I was only kidding about the bruising…"

"Oh…now I just feel overenthusiastic," Aris muttered, "But, in all seriousness, are you injured?"

"Not at all," She replied, smiling.

"I'm glad," Arisseos bowed, smiling, "I am Arisseos ibn Infinis."

If Cecile was surprised, she didn't show it, "I know you, you're the one the pilots are calling _'the Ace in Gold and White,'_" She paused, still smiling, and blinked knowingly, "They also say that you're the brother of the _Peregrine's_ pilot."

Aris tilted his head back, "I am. Alterith is my older brother."

Cecile frowned for a moment, "Older... Stranger things have happened, I suppose."

Aris nodded, then turned toward the courtyard windows, where a massive television had been placed, "The screening will start soon. What are your thoughts on the _Shinigami_?"

Cecile huffed angrily, "I think it's an abomination to build a weapon like that during an official peacetime, even with Omega running around, blowing things up."

Arisseos closed his eyes, "Then we're in agreement."

A tinny voice rang out from the courtyard, _"Ladies and gentlemen, if you will assemble in the courtyard, the exposition will begin."_

0000000000

Alterith froze as he reached out for another drink. _'Exposition? Of what? What is the UFN doing? What are you planning, Kaname Ohgi?"_

He dashed out to the courtyard and watched with a feeling of growing horror. The great screen displayed a howling plain of dark sand, the caption informing him that it was the Mongolian desert. On-screen were several decommissioned Knightmare Frames and battlecruisers. Then the countdown began.

"_Ten seconds to strafing."_

Alterith blinked. This was not going to be good.

"_Five, four, three, two, one. Commencing strafing."_

For a moment, the screen went a brilliant white, and for a moment, Alterith could entertain the naïve hope that this was all just a joke. That maybe something terrible wasn't about to happen. He was, predictably, wrong. As the glare faded from the screen, the camera was rocked by a passing shockwave, and several explosions highlighted the massive beam of yellow light burning into the sands of Mongolia.

'_Oh, shit.'_ Alterith thought, '_Shit, shit, shit, and shit!'_

In the back of the crowd, another pair of eyes looked on in horror. Jeremiah stood by the ballroom doorway, dressed sharply in a chauffer's jacket and hat as part of his cover. His faceplate was concealed by the brim of his hat, but now he tilted it back and watched in dawning shock.

Jeremiah, robotic eye open wide, tapped at his earpiece, "Your Majesty, are you seeing this?"

There was a shuddering breath at the other end of the line as Lelouch readied an answer, _"I see it, Jeremiah. I see it,"_ There was a calm moment before the storm hit, _"What the hell is Ohgi thinking? He wants peace, so he built a space laser to get it! That's a terrible idea, bound to collapse on itself. It's like if Britannia were to suddenly have a crippled Emperor after years of Social Darwinism being paraded around as the end-all be-all of philosophies!"_ There was a moment of silent and awful realization, _"Oh my."_

Alterith broke into the line using his own headset, "Majesty, I am pissed—no, scratch that—I am absolutely volcanic! I'm requesting permission to move to Phase 3B-Alpha."

Lelouch sighed, no doubt rubbing at his temples, _"Jeremiah? You're in the field as well. Can you confirm Alterith's request and support it?"_

Jeremiah bared his teeth, "Request confirmed and seconded," He snarled, "Let's give the bastards hell!"

He dashed through the palace ballroom and out the front door, discarding his jacket and hat in the lobby. Reaching the expensive convertible in record time after breezing past the valets, he tugged on his longcoat and slid into the front seat, revving the engine and gunning the car past the palace front.

Alterith took a different route. He pushed his way through the crowd and walked up to the podium, where Ohgi was shaking hands with several Chinese delegates and extolling the virtues of the weapon, called the _Shinigami_, before cracking his knuckles and strolling on up.

Then he tapped Ohgi on the shoulder and, as the Japanese PM turned around, uttered the immortal words "Fuck you very much," He then proceeded to punch Ohgi in the jaw, "And your mother twice."

The quote would subsequently gain a huge amount of notoriety, and the video clip of his actions would viral, being reviewed and analyzed by talk shows, scientific and social experts, and internet personalities for weeks to come.

Following this he decided that the best course of action would be to sprint away as fast as possible. Coincidentally, it was.

Abandoning the slippers he had worn to the event, Alterith dashed through the halls, barefooted, toward the large viewing gallery on the second floor that was the rendezvous point. He had been making good progress when he ran head first into an extremely disgruntled green-haired witch.

"Alterith!" She cried out in surprise and anger, eyes narrowing, "It's you I've been sensing. _You're_ the aberration of Geass!"

Alterith had the grace to stop, stunned, and mutter, "Uh… guilty? How you been C.C.?"

Her eye twitched as she lunged forward, and Alterith, always afraid of exactly the wrong thing, yelped and doubled over to shield his "crown jewels." C.C., with absolutely no intention of hitting Alterith in the groin, instead gripped his shoulder and sent a surge of power through her Code. The resulting blowback disrupted radar and communications in the surrounding area and flipped the radio in Jeremiah's car to an easy-listening station.

Alterith clutched at his right eye and shouted through the echoing howl of the energy storm, "Damn you, woman! If you disrupt a Geass, do you know what could happen?"

"I'm fully aware of the potential consequences of this!" She shouted back, "But for Lelouch's sake, I can't let you destroy this peace, and I can't let you keep that Geass!"

Alterith snarled, "You stubborn bitch!" He shoved her away as hard as he could, succeeding in breaking their connection. The energy storm subsided as he staggered away, breaking into a swift run as he began to recover from the surge's effects. He threw a look over his shoulder as he neared the end of the long gallery, sighting a squad of UFN soldiers rushing after him, and took enough time to shout, "Have a nice day, suckers!" before smashing through the second story window and sailing out into open air.

And falling right into the open passenger's seat of Jeremiah's car as he whizzed by.

"How the hell did you manage that?" He shouted over the screaming wind.

"What do you mean?" Alterith yelled back, "I thought this was the plan!"

"No! The extraction point was on the _other_ side of the palace! I was only driving past here now because some jackass changed the radio to an easy listening station!" Jeremiah pulled the convertible's cover up as he slowed to turn around a corner, "Better this way. Now we can get to the Seraphim faster."

0000000000

Cornelia scowled as she boarded her Knightmare. The modified _Vincent_ took to the sky quickly, leaving behind the UFN base below it. '_How could such a breach of security happen?'_ The event should have been secured. That damned Ohgi was lax about it. She growled, _'Idiot Eleven, if he can't even direct security properly, how the hell does he run a damned country?'_ She thought to herself, _'Although, I guess maybe his insecurity does show through with this _Shinigami _weapon,'_ She chuckled at the thought of what her mentor would say, _'Guess it's true what they say about compensating for something.'_

An alert rang out loudly from her console: two machines in range of the Knightmare's basic sensors. To go beyond that to a range of a few kilometers would mean diverting power to her _Vincent_'s factspheres, and that could expose her to the enemy's weapons. In battle with a Knightmare, a single slip-up could result in death.

She had often heard of Knightmare battles being compared to a high-speed game of chess, where every move and countermove had to be carefully considered, but when Alterith ver Degralis and his_ Peregrine_ swept out of the sky to engage Li Xingke's arriving _Shen Hu_, she knew that no one watching the battle would be able to describe it as such. It was dance at its finest.

The _Peregrine_ bent a wing in front of itself, blocking Xingke's first stab as its left-arm talons retracted to give it a better grip on the long sword it drew from its hip. Mounted on its right arm was a diamond-shaped shield, light and curved to guard against blades, and reinforced to deflect particle beams, from which a long blade slid, and the _Peregrine_ gripped a fold-out handle to better wield the blade. Then the dance began. Neither Knightmare followed the usual pattern of attack-defend-attack again, no. They flowed from one move to another, seamlessly, gliding from offense to defense without pause.

"You fight with skill," Alterith called, "But you won't beat me!"

The _Peregrine_ slashed with both blades, spinning to block Xingke's counterstrikes with its shield before stowing its shield-sword to draw a short sword from its wing.

Cornelia blinked, "Varying the length of the weapons he uses to throw his opponent off; and interesting tactic."

Before she could comment further, another pilot cried out over the comm. System, "Princess Cornelia! Incoming Particle Beam!"

Cornelia heeded the warning, sending her Knightmare into a spiral as the beam destroyed the Frame next to her, "Where did that come from?" She shouted, "What battleship fired that?"

"It was no battleship." Kyoshiro Tohdoh was in the air too, and he spoke with grave certainty, "It was a Knightmare Frame."

"What kind of Knightmare Frame can fire from such a long range? It's beyond my onboard sensors!" Cornelia growled and rocketed in the direction from which the beam had come, drawing her twin MVS swords.

Her launch was rewarded as two more beams fired from the same point, almost three kilometers away, destroying two more Frames. Then, after a short pause, a barrage of particle blasts cut through the air, obliterating a whole squadron of Knightmares. Through all this Cornelia swerved and dodged until she got close enough to see the Knightmare Frame itself.

It was as tall as the Lancelot, resplendent in green and grey and white. Its legs were built strongly and it carried a heavy-looking long-barreled rifle, a sword at its waist and a lance on its back. A pair of crimson energy wings sprouted from a pair of oddly shaped structures that protruded from its shoulders. It wasn't until the Knightmare turned and aligned the wing with Cornelia that she realized what they were.

Rifles. Detachable rifles stowed in the frames that projected the Knightmare's wings. And around the Knightmare, more rifles hovered, projecting shields, highly similar to the Blaze Luminous, to deflect the sparse shots fired by the few Knightmares capable of firing at it. As Cornelia's _Vincent_ screamed toward it, it turned, folding the rifle and stowing it in a holster on its leg. It drew its sword and lance and charged, flicking away Cornelia's blade and bearing down on it. As Cornelia moved to parry, the other Knightmare reversed its grip on its sword, swinging its lance to occupy her swords before darting past her guard in an attempt to shear through her Frame's abdomen. She backed off quickly, escaping the flurry of blows.

"I know those moves," She muttered in shock, "I know who taught me them." As the enemy Knightmare charged again, she countered, entangling the two for a brief moment as they struggled against each other before hailing the other pilot through her machine's speakers, "This is Cornelia li Britannia, Third Princess of Britannia. Are you the one who mentored me at West Point?"

The other Knightmare stilled as their contest of strength petered to a standstill, then backed off. The six Mobile Rifle-Shields swarmed over to it, sheathing themselves in specialized holsters on the Frame's shoulders. The Knightmare's glowing eyes flashed a bright green for a moment before answering.

"I am," She said as her image opened on Cornelia's console, "I am Nonnette Enneagram, former Knight of Nine, and the pilot of the Knightmare Frame _Justinian._ I serve Omega and his plan for the greater good." Then her face split into a maniacal grin that Cornelia knew all too well: the kind that had caused her and her husband to consistently compare the Knight to Milly Ashford and Alterith ver Degralis. "It's been a long time, Cornelia. Too long. Come forth and show me your strength, show me that you have the determination to succeed!"

0000000000

_'My father once said that good and evil are on either side of the same card. If that is so, then what is Kaname Ohgi? If he intends to use the _Shinigami_ to dominate the world, then we have no choice but to destroy it _and_ him. Even those with the purest intentions can become the most malevolent of demons…I look no further than myself for evidence of that._

_**'Next Round: No Gods, No Masters**_

_'A Knight of Justice bows his head to no one.'_

**This one took so long. I am legitimately sorry for that. I have the events of the next chapter outlined, but odds are its going to take quite some time. My deepest apologies (please don't stone me to death with dead cats.)**


	10. NOTICE OF INDEFINITE SUSPENSION

NOTICE OF INDEFINITE SUSPENSION

With college applications coming up and a gauntlet of other tests, I can't be affording to split my time between all of that and three writing projects. Thus, the answer was clear: I needed to drop at least one. And it's this one. I'm placing this fic on HIATUS for and indefinite amount of time; I'm dropping this for the foreseeable future in order to devote more time to my college apps, my other active fanfic, _Agent Limit_, and my own personal writing project. I apologize to all my readers who looked forward to the next chapter, and remember, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it!


End file.
